Magnetic structure in square cupola compound Ba(TiO)Cu$_4$(PO$_4$)$_4$: a $^{31}$P NMR Study

TL;DR

This study uses 31P NMR to elucidate the magnetic structure of Ba(TiO)Cu4(PO4)4, revealing hyperfine interactions and dipolar fields associated with its antiferromagnetic order at low temperatures.

Contribution

First detailed 31P NMR analysis of the magnetic structure in Ba(TiO)Cu4(PO4)4, identifying hyperfine and dipolar fields consistent with a magnetic quadrupolar configuration.

Findings

Hyperfine shift splitting at T_N=9.5 K indicates magnetic ordering.

Nearly isotropic hyperfine fields Ha_hf and Hc_hf were determined.

Dipolar fields at phosphorus align with a magnetic quadrupolar configuration.

Abstract

The magnetic structure of the antiferromagnetic square cupola compound Ba(TiO)Cu$_4$(PO$_4$)$_4$ with the tetragonal structure is studied with 31P nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. The magnetic hyperfine shift K shows a clear splitting at the N\'eel temperature T$_N$ = 9.5 K, where the resonance splits into two lines when an external magnetic field is oriented along the c axis and into four lines when the field is along the a axis. In the paramagnetic region K(T) follows temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility $\chi(T)$. From K vs $\chi$ plot we determined nearly isotropic hyperfine field values Ha_hf = 765 mT/$\mu_B$ and Hc_hf = 740 mT/$\mu_B$ for the magnetic field oriented along a and c, respectively. From the rotation of the single crystal in the external magnetic field we determined eight different orientations of K-tensor in the paramagnetic region. In the antiferromagnetic state at T = 6 K we found that the local field at phosphorus is mainly due to dipolar field of coppers. Here the rotation of the single crystal shows eight different orientations of the local field Bint = 35.6 mT. The orientations correspond to the calculation of dipolar fields at phosphorus assuming magnetic quadrupolar configuration of magnetic moments $\varGamma_3(1)$ described previously [Nat. Commun. 7, 13039 (2016); Phys. Rev. B 96, 214436 (2017)].