NMR Determination of the Low-Field Magnetic Structure of the Cu-Based Mineral Rouaite Cu$_2$(OH)$_3$NO$_3$

TL;DR

This study uses NMR techniques to elucidate the low-field magnetic structure of the Cu-based mineral rouaite, revealing the role of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in its magnetic ground state.

Contribution

First microscopic determination of rouaite's magnetic structure using NMR, highlighting the significance of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in stabilizing its magnetic state.

Findings

Internal fields measured microscopically in the ordered state.

Magnetic moments' directions determined through model comparison.

Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions are crucial for stability.

Abstract

Frustrated interactions in the Cu-based mineral rouaite with alternating antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic spin chains, Cu$_2$(OH)$_3$NO$_3$, introduce non-trivial magnetic ground states and exotic excitations arising from them. We investigated the magnetic structure of Cu$_2$(OH)$_3$NO$_3$ by $^1$H- and $^2$H-NMR measurements on single crystals. The internal fields in the ordered state were microscopically measured using the H nuclear moments as a local probe. The directions of the ordered moments were determined by comparing the experimental results to model calculations. The obtained magnetic structure suggests the importance of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in stabilizing the low-field magnetic structure. The present result advances the theoretical understanding of the low-field magnetic states and will enable exploration of the exotic magnetic states emerging in high magnetic fields.