Magnetism of single crystalline breathing pyrochlore spinel AgInCr4S8

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: May, Andrew F., Pasco, Christopher M., Garlea, V. O., Gornicka, Karolina, Frontzek, Matthias D., Wang, Xiaoping, Park, Pyeongjae, Christianson, Andrew D.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author May, Andrew F.
Pasco, Christopher M.
Garlea, V. O.
Gornicka, Karolina
Frontzek, Matthias D.
Wang, Xiaoping
Park, Pyeongjae
Christianson, Andrew D.
author_facet May, Andrew F.
Pasco, Christopher M.
Garlea, V. O.
Gornicka, Karolina
Frontzek, Matthias D.
Wang, Xiaoping
Park, Pyeongjae
Christianson, Andrew D.
contents Single crystals of \ce{AgInCr4S8} were grown by chemical vapor transport and crystallographic ordering of Ag/In that results in a breathing pyrochlore motif of Cr$^{3+}$ was verified by x-ray and neutron diffraction. Long-range antiferromagnetic order is observed below a Néel temperature of $T_{\mathrm N}$ $\approx$ 9.6 K. The magnetic properties are characterized using ac and dc magnetization, specific heat capacity, and single crystal neutron diffraction measurements. The specific heat data are characterized by a small lambda anomaly near 9.5 K and the estimated magnetic entropy reaches $\approx$ $\frac{1}{3}$ of the expected value by 3$T_{\mathrm N}$, suggesting significant short-range order in the paramagnetic phase. Single crystal neutron diffraction evidences an incommensurate spin structure with propagation vector $\textbf{\textit{k}}$ = (0,0,$δ$) and $δ$ = 0.343 at 5 K. The minimal model that accounts for the data consists of ferromagnetic layers of Cr atoms, with magnetic moments lying in the plane of the layers and modulating in the perpendicular direction to form a helical structure propagating along $\textbf{\textit{k}}$. This study represents a rare investigation of single crystals within the family of breathing pyrochlore materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_21122
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Magnetism of single crystalline breathing pyrochlore spinel AgInCr4S8
May, Andrew F.
Pasco, Christopher M.
Garlea, V. O.
Gornicka, Karolina
Frontzek, Matthias D.
Wang, Xiaoping
Park, Pyeongjae
Christianson, Andrew D.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
Single crystals of \ce{AgInCr4S8} were grown by chemical vapor transport and crystallographic ordering of Ag/In that results in a breathing pyrochlore motif of Cr$^{3+}$ was verified by x-ray and neutron diffraction. Long-range antiferromagnetic order is observed below a Néel temperature of $T_{\mathrm N}$ $\approx$ 9.6 K. The magnetic properties are characterized using ac and dc magnetization, specific heat capacity, and single crystal neutron diffraction measurements. The specific heat data are characterized by a small lambda anomaly near 9.5 K and the estimated magnetic entropy reaches $\approx$ $\frac{1}{3}$ of the expected value by 3$T_{\mathrm N}$, suggesting significant short-range order in the paramagnetic phase. Single crystal neutron diffraction evidences an incommensurate spin structure with propagation vector $\textbf{\textit{k}}$ = (0,0,$δ$) and $δ$ = 0.343 at 5 K. The minimal model that accounts for the data consists of ferromagnetic layers of Cr atoms, with magnetic moments lying in the plane of the layers and modulating in the perpendicular direction to form a helical structure propagating along $\textbf{\textit{k}}$. This study represents a rare investigation of single crystals within the family of breathing pyrochlore materials.
title Magnetism of single crystalline breathing pyrochlore spinel AgInCr4S8
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.21122