NMR and \mu SR study of spin correlations in SrZnVO(PO4)2 a S=1/2 frustrated magnet on a square lattice

TL;DR

This study investigates spin correlations in the frustrated magnet SrZnVO(PO4)2 using NMR and muSR techniques, revealing how the correlation length varies with temperature and exchange interactions, and comparing it to related compounds.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of spin correlations in SrZnVO(PO4)2, highlighting the impact of frustration and exchange ratios on magnetic properties.

Findings

Correlation length decreases with increasing J2/J1 ratio.

Spin correlation energy scale scales as |2J2 + J1|.

Behavior similar to non-frustrated systems but with reduced spin stiffness.

Abstract

31P nuclear and muon spin-lattice relaxation rate measurements in SrZnVO(PO4)2, a S=1/2 frustrated magnet on a square lattice, are presented. The temperature (T) dependence of the in-plane correlation length \xi (T) is derived and it is shown that the overall behaviour is analogous to the one found for non-frustrated systems but with a reduced spin stiffness. The temperature dependence of \xi (T) in SrZnVO(PO4)2 is compared to the one of other frustrated magnets on a square lattice with competing nearest neighbour (J1) and next-nearest neighbour (J2) exchange couplings and it is shown that \xi (T) progressively decreases as the ratio J2/J1 approaches the critical value leading to the suppression of long-range magnetic order. In spite of the differences in the functional form of \xi (T) found in different vanadates, it is pointed out that the characteristic energy scale describing spin correlations in all those compounds appears to scale as |2J2 + J1|.