Amplitude mode in the planar triangular antiferromagnet Na₀.₉MnO₂

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Source:

Nature Communications, Volume 9, p.2188 (2018)

URL:

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04601-1

Abstract:

<p>
Amplitude modes arising from symmetry breaking in materials are of broad interest in condensed matter physics. These modes reflect an oscillation in the amplitude of a complex order parameter, yet are typically unstable and decay into oscillations of the order parameter&acirc;EUR(tm)s phase. This renders stable amplitude modes rare, and exotic effects in quantum antiferromagnets have historically provided a realm for their detection. Here we report an alternate route to realizing amplitude modes in magnetic materials by demonstrating that an antiferromagnet on a two-dimensional anisotropic triangular lattice (&Icirc;&plusmn;-Na0.9MnO2) exhibits a long-lived, coherent oscillation of its staggered magnetization field. Our results show that geometric frustration of Heisenberg spins with uniaxial single-ion anisotropy can renormalize the interactions of a dense two-dimensional network of moments into largely decoupled, one-dimensional chains that manifest a longitudinally polarized-bound state. This bound state is driven by the Ising-like anisotropy inherent to the Mn3+ ions of this compound.
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