Low-energy magnetic excitations in the dimerized and incommensurate phase of CuGeO 3

Abstract

Low-energy magnetic excitations in the dimerized (D) and incommensurate (I) phase of CuGeO 3 were studied by Raman spectroscopy. Based on temperature and magnetic field dependent experiments on pure and Si-doped samples the Raman peak at 17 cm −1 for T=2 K in the D-phase is attributed to a soliton-assisted one-magnon excitation. We further present a Raman-study of the low-energy spin dynamics of a spin-Peierls system in the incommensurate phase. The magnetic field induced transition between D- and I-phase of CuGeO 3 ( B c≳12.5 T) is characterized by the appearance of an intense new low-energy mode. For the incommensurate phase a finite zone-center excitation gap of Δ=2.3±0.2 cm −1 is deduced.