Spin-glass state and long-range magnetic order in Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3

TL;DR

This study reveals that Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 exhibits a coexistence of spin-glass-like disordered magnetic phase and long-range antiferromagnetic order below 20 K, studied through muon spin rotation and neutron scattering.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the magnetic ground state of Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3, demonstrating coexistence of spin-glass and long-range order phases.

Findings

Disorder phase appears below 20 K

Coexistence of spin-glass and antiferromagnetic order

Homogeneous magnetic state without ion clustering

Abstract

We have investigated the magnetic ground-state of the multiferroic relaxor ferroelectric \pfn with $\mu$SR spectroscopy and neutron scattering. We find that a transition to a partially disordered phase occurs below T=20 K that coexists with long-range antiferromagnetic ordering. The disordered phase resembles a spin-glass. No clustering of magnetic ions could be evidenced by $\mu$SR so that the coexistence appears homogeneous in the sample.