# Classical Spin Nematic Transition in LiGa$_{0.95}$In$_{0.05}$Cr$_4$O$_8$

## TL;DR

This study reveals a transition to a collinear spin nematic state in LiGa$_{0.95}$In$_{0.05}$Cr$_4$O$_8$, characterized by quadrupolar order without structural or magnetic long-range order, using NMR, diffraction, and Monte Carlo analysis.

## Contribution

It provides the first evidence of a spin nematic phase in a breathing pyrochlore compound through combined experimental and computational methods.

## Key findings

- Single second-order transition at 11 K replaces complex first-order transitions.
- No structural symmetry lowering or magnetic long-range order detected.
- Magnetic diffuse scattering indicates a collinear spin nematic state.

## Abstract

We present the results of a combined $^7$Li NMR and diffraction study on LiGa$_{0.95}$In$_{0.05}$Cr$_4$O$_8$, a member of LiGa$_{1-x}$In$_{x}$Cr$_4$O$_8$ "breathing" pyrochlore family. Via specific heat and NMR measurements, we find that the complex sequence of first-order transitions observed for $x=0$ is replaced by a single, apparently second-order transition at $T_f=11$ K. Neutron and X-ray diffraction rule out both structural symmetry lowering and magnetic long-range order as the origin of this transition. Instead, reverse Monte Carlo fitting of the magnetic diffuse scattering indicates that the low temperature phase may be described as a collinear spin nematic state, characterized by a quadrupolar order parameter. This state also shows signs of short range order between collinear spin arrangements on tetrahedra, revealed by mapping the reverse Monte Carlo spin configurations onto a three-state color model describing the manifold of nematic states.