Abstract
We report on the phonon spectrum of the spin-gapped quantum magnet BaCrO determined by infrared spectroscopy, and on specific heat measurements across the Jahn-Teller transition in magnetic fields up to 9 T. Phonon modes split below the Jahn-Teller transition, which occurs at K as detected by specific-heat measurements. The field-dependent specific heat data is analyzed in terms of the contributions from lattice, magnetic and orbital degrees of freedom. In contrast to the isostructural compound SrCrO, our analysis does not indicate the existence of orbital fluctuations below the Jahn-Teller transition in BaCrO.
- Received 4 May 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.85.224304
©2012 American Physical Society