Continuous degeneracy of the fcc kagome lattice with magnetic dipolar interactions

A. R. Way, K. P. W. Hall, I. Saika-Voivod, M. L. Plumer, and B. W. Southern
Phys. Rev. B 98, 214417 – Published 11 December 2018

Abstract

Results are presented on analytic and computational analyses of the spin states associated with a three-dimensional (3D) fcc lattice composed of ABC stacked kagome planes of magnetic ions with only long-range dipole-dipole interactions. Extending previous work on the 2D kagome system, where a discrete six-fold degeneracy of the ground state was revealed [Holden et al. Phys. Rev. B 91, 224425 (2015)], we show that the 3D lattice exhibits a continuous degeneracy characterized by just two spherical angles involving six sublattice spin vectors. Application of a heat bath Monte Carlo algorithm shows that thermal fluctuations reduce this degeneracy at very low temperature in an order-by-disorder process. A magnetic field applied along directions of high symmetry also results in lifting the continuous degeneracy to a subset of states from the original set of ground states. Metropolis Monte Carlo simulation results are also presented on the temperature and system size dependence of the energy, specific heat, and magnetization, providing evidence for a phase transition at T0.38 (in units of the dipole strength). The results can be relevant to a class of magnetic compounds having the AuCu3 crystal structure.

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  • Received 8 June 2018
  • Revised 22 November 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.98.214417

©2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

A. R. Way, K. P. W. Hall, I. Saika-Voivod, and M. L. Plumer

  • Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland A1B 3X7, Canada

B. W. Southern

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada

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Issue

Vol. 98, Iss. 21 — 1 December 2018

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