Materializing rival ground states in the barlowite family of kagome magnets: quantum spin liquid, spin ordered, and valence bond crystal states.

ABSTRACT: The spin- 12 kagome antiferromagnet is considered an ideal host for a quantum spin liquid (QSL) ground state. We find that when the bonds of the kagome lattice are modulated with a periodic pattern, new quantum ground states emerge. Newly synthesized crystalline barlowite (Cu4(OH)6FBr) and Zn-substituted barlowite demonstrate the delicate interplay between singlet states and spin order on the spin- 12 kagome lattice. Comprehensive structural measurements demonstrate that our new variant of barlowite maintains hexagonal symmetry at low temperatures with an arrangement of distorted and undistorted kagome triangles, for which numerical simulations predict a pinwheel valence bond crystal (VBC) state instead of a QSL. The presence of interlayer spins eventually leads to an interesting pinwheel

SUBMITTER: Smaha RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7558222 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature