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Phase transition preceding magnetic long-range order in the double perovskite Ba2NaOsO6

Kristin Willa, Roland Willa, Ulrich Welp, Ian R. Fisher, Andreas Rydh, Wai-Kwong Kwok, and Zahir Islam
Phys. Rev. B 100, 041108(R) – Published 15 July 2019

Abstract

Recent theoretical studies [G. Chen et al., Phys. Rev. B 82, 174440 (2010); H. Ishizuka et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 184422 (2014)] for the magnetic Mott insulator Ba2NaOsO6 have proposed a low-temperature order parameter that breaks lattice rotational symmetry without breaking time reversal symmetry, leading to a nematic phase just above the magnetic ordering temperature. We present high-resolution calorimetric and magnetization data of the same Ba2NaOsO6 single crystal and show evidence for a weakly field-dependent phase transition occurring at a temperature of Ts9.5K, above the magnetic ordering temperature of Tc7.5K. This transition appears as a broadened step in the low-field temperature dependence of the specific heat. The evolution of the phase boundary with applied magnetic field suggests that this phase coincides with the phase of broken local point symmetry seen in NMR experiments at high fields [L. Lu et al., Nat. Commun. 8, 14407 (2017)]. Furthermore, the magnetic field dependence of the specific heat provides clear indications for magnetic correlations persisting at temperatures between Tc and Ts where long-range magnetic order is absent, giving support for the existence of the proposed nematic phase.

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  • Received 9 May 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.041108

©2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Kristin Willa1,2, Roland Willa1,3, Ulrich Welp1, Ian R. Fisher4,5, Andreas Rydh6, Wai-Kwong Kwok1, and Zahir Islam7

  • 1Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
  • 2Institute for Solid State Physics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
  • 3Institute for Theory of Condensed Matter, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
  • 4Department of Applied Physics and Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
  • 5Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
  • 6Department of Physics, Stockholm University, SE-106-91 Stockholm, Sweden
  • 7Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA

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Issue

Vol. 100, Iss. 4 — 15 July 2019

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