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Unconventional magnetic order on the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev lattice in βLi2IrO3: Full solution via magnetic resonant x-ray diffraction

A. Biffin, R. D. Johnson, Sungkyun Choi, F. Freund, S. Manni, A. Bombardi, P. Manuel, P. Gegenwart, and R. Coldea
Phys. Rev. B 90, 205116 – Published 10 November 2014

Abstract

The recently synthesized iridate βLi2IrO3 has been proposed as a candidate to display novel magnetic behavior stabilized by frustration effects from bond-dependent, anisotropic interactions (Kitaev model) on a three-dimensional “hyperhoneycomb” lattice. Here we report a combined study using neutron powder diffraction and magnetic resonant x-ray diffraction to solve the complete magnetic structure. We find a complex, incommensurate magnetic order with non-coplanar and counter-rotating Ir moments, which surprisingly shares many of its features with the related structural polytype “stripyhoneycomb” γLi2IrO3, where dominant Kitaev interactions have been invoked to explain the stability of the observed magnetic structure. The similarities of behavior between those two structural polytypes, which have different global lattice topologies but the same local connectivity, are strongly suggestive that the same magnetic interactions and the same underlying mechanism govern the stability of the magnetic order in both materials, indicating that both β- and γLi2IrO3 are strong candidates to realize dominant Kitaev interactions in a solid state material.

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  • Received 1 August 2014
  • Revised 6 October 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.205116

©2014 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Biffin1, R. D. Johnson1, Sungkyun Choi1, F. Freund2, S. Manni2, A. Bombardi3, P. Manuel4, P. Gegenwart2, and R. Coldea1

  • 1Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom
  • 2EP VI, Center for Electronic Correlations and Magnetism, Augsburg University, D-86159 Augsburg, Germany
  • 3Diamond Light Source Ltd., Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom
  • 4ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 90, Iss. 20 — 15 November 2014

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