Abstract
Magnetic properties of the substitution series Ru$_{1-x}$Cr$_x$Cl$_3$ were investigated to determine the evolution from the anisotropic Kitaev magnet $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ with $J_{\rm eff} = 1/2$ magnetic Ru$^{3+}$ ions to the isotropic Heisenberg magnet CrCl$_3$ with $S = 3/2$ magnetic Cr$^{3+}$ ions. Magnetization measurements on single crystals revealed a reversal of the magnetic anisotropy under doping, which we argue to arise from the competition between anisotropic Kitaev and off-diagonal interactions on the Ru-Ru links and approximately isotropic Cr-Ru and isotropic Cr-Cr interactions. In addition, combined magnetization, ac susceptibility and specific-heat measurements clearly show the destabilization of the long-range magnetic order of $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ in favor of a spin-glass state of Ru$_{1-x}$Cr$_x$Cl$_3$ for a low doping of $x\backsimeq0.1$. The corresponding freezing temperature as a function of Cr content shows a broad maximum around $x\backsimeq0.45$.
Highlights
The Kitaev model on a honeycomb lattice realizes a topological spin liquid in two space dimensions with fractionalized Majorana-fermion excitations [1,2,3]
Magnetic properties of the substitution series Ru1−xCrxCl3 were investigated to determine the evolution from the anisotropic Kitaev magnet α-RuCl3 with Jeff = 1/2 magnetic Ru3+ ions to the isotropic Heisenberg magnet CrCl3 with S = 3/2 magnetic Cr3+ ions
Magnetization measurements on single crystals revealed a reversal of the magnetic anisotropy under doping, which we argue to arise from the competition between anisotropic Kitaev and off-diagonal interactions on the Ru-Ru links and approximately isotropic Cr-Ru and isotropic Cr-Cr interactions
Summary
The Kitaev model on a honeycomb lattice realizes a topological spin liquid in two space dimensions with fractionalized Majorana-fermion excitations [1,2,3]. T2D = 17 K prior to the long-range antiferromagnetic ordering at 14 K was proposed from Faraday rotation and specific-heat measurements [44,45] It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the magnetic properties of the complete Ru1−xCrxCl3 series based on magnetization, specific-heat, and ac susceptibility measurements. The combination of these thermodynamic probes allows us to construct the x-T phase diagram of Ru1−xCrxCl3, where the antiferromagnetic zigzag order is replaced by a spinglass state for 0.1 x 0.7. The substitution series Ru1−xCrxCl3 constitutes one of the rare cases with simultaneous tuning of frustration and disorder
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