NMR evidence against a spin-nematic nature of the presaturation phase in the frustrated magnet SrZnVO(PO4)2

TL;DR

This study uses $^{31}$P NMR to investigate the presaturation phase in SrZnVO(PO$_4$)$_2$, providing evidence against its spin-nematic nature by revealing dipolar order and analyzing relaxation rates.

Contribution

The paper presents NMR evidence that challenges the spin-nematic interpretation of the presaturation phase in a frustrated magnet, showing it hosts dipolar order instead.

Findings

NMR spectra show dipolar spin order in the presaturation phase.

Relaxation rate data fit by single-magnon and critical second-order terms.

No evidence of double-gap exponential behavior typical of spin nematics.

Abstract

Using $^{31}$P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) we investigate the recently discovered presaturation phase in the highly frustrated two-dimensional spin system SrZnVO(PO$_4$)$_2$ [F. Landolt et al., Phys. Rev. B 104, 224435 (2021)]. Our data provide two pieces of evidence against the presumed spin-nematic character of this phase: i) NMR spectra reveal that it hosts a dipolar spin order and ii) the 1/$T_1$ relaxation rate data recorded above the saturation field can be fitted by the sum of a single-magnon term, exponential in the gap, and a critical second-order term, exponential in the triple gap, leaving no space for a nematic spin dynamics, characterized by a double-gap exponential. We explain the unexpectedly broad validity of the simple fit and the related critical spin dynamics.