Magnetic structure of a new quantum magnet SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic structure of SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$, a quantum magnet with a complex 3D network of spin-$rac{1}{2}$ ions, revealing how dominant chain interactions and frustrated couplings influence its magnetic order.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed analysis of the magnetic structure of SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$ using muon relaxation and neutron diffraction, highlighting the role of competing interactions.

Findings

Long-range magnetic order at low temperatures.

Dominance of chain interactions over frustrated couplings.

Identification of the magnetic structure through neutron diffraction.

Abstract

SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$ consists of a 3-dimensional arrangement of spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Cu$^{2+}$ ions. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd neighbor interactions respectively couple Cu$^{2+}$ moments into a network of isolated triangles, a highly frustrated hyperkagome lattice consisting of corner sharing triangles and antiferromagnetic chains. Of these, the chain interaction dominates in SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$ while the other two interactions lead to frustrated inter-chain coupling giving rise to long range magnetic order at suppressed temperatures. In this paper, we investigate the magnetic properties in SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$ using muon relaxation spectroscopy and neutron diffraction and present the low temperature magnetic structure.