Magnetic Ordering In SrHo$_{2}$O$_{4}$

We report the experimental observation of unusual magnetic ordering in a frustrated magnet SrHo$_{2}$O$_{4}$. The Ho$^{3+}$ ions in this material form a lattice consisting of edge-sharing triangles making chains extending along the c direction. The chains in turn form a honeycomb-like structure in the a-b plane. Despite a Curie Weiss temperature of -16.9 K, magnetic long range ordering (LRO) occurs at the much lower Ne\'{e}l temperature (T$_{\mathrm{N}})$ of 0.7 K. Above T$_{\mathrm{N}}$, single crystal neutron scattering experiments carried out on MACS(NCNR) shows diffusive patterns of elastic scattering in momentum space, revealing anisotropic short-range correlation with extended correlations along the chain direction. Single crystal diffraction measurement down to 0.3 K at HB1A(ORNL) shows coexistance of a long range ordering component and a short range ordering one below T$_{\mathrm{N}}$ . A proper partition of the magnetic lattice allows excellent modeling of the experimental data, and show that an interplay of frustration, crystal field effects, and low dimensionality lay behind the deeply suppressed and unusual partial order in this system.