Magnetic order and excitations in the magnetically intercalated van der Waals material Cr$_{\frac{1}{4}}$NbSe$_2$

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic order and excitations in Cr$_{rac{1}{4}}$NbSe$_2$, revealing a 120° antiferromagnetic ground state with three-dimensional magnetic interactions mediated by conduction electrons.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed neutron scattering analysis of magnetic order and excitations in Cr$_{rac{1}{4}}$NbSe$_2$, highlighting the strength of out-of-plane interactions.

Findings

Magnetic ground state is a 120°-type antiferromagnetic order.

Magnetic excitations' dispersion relations were determined.

Out-of-plane ferromagnetic interactions are strong compared to in-plane interactions.

Abstract

Cr$_{\frac{1}{4}}$NbSe$_2$ is a triangular lattice magnet in which magnetic Cr$^{3+}$ ions are intercalated to form triangular lattices between NbSe$_2$ van der Waals layers stacked along the c axis. By unpolarized and polarized neutron scattering experiments, we have revealed that the magnetic ground state of this system is a 120$^{\circ}$-type antiferromagnetic order characterized by the magnetic propagation wave vector of $q=(\frac{1}{3}, \frac{1}{3}, 0)$. We also performed inelastic neutron scattering measurements using co-aligned single crystals, and determined dispersion relations of magnetic excitations at low temperatures. Comparing the observed spectra with calculations based on the linear spin-wave theory, we revealed that the out-of-plane ferromagnetic interaction is fairly strong as compared to the in-plane nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic interaction. Although the crystal structure of this system is composed of two-dimensional van der Waals layers, the magnetic order has a three dimensional character, which would be attributed to long-range magnetic interactions mediated by conduction electrons.