Neutron Diffraction on NaNi2BiO6: Complex Interactions on a Honeycomb Lattice

ORAL

Abstract

Magnetic crystals with a honeycomb lattice can have a very high degree of frustration when next-nearest neighbor interactions are strong. Such complex interactions can lead to Kitaev model physics, including a proposed spin liquid phase. Using neutron scattering, we studied the magnetic properties of a new spin-1/2 honeycomb compound, NaNi$_{2}$BiO$_{6}$, which was known to have heat capacity peaks indicative of a phase transition at 5 K. The magnetic order indicates beyond nearest-neighbor exchange as well as significant inter-plane interaction, which allows for a study of rich and complex structure. In this talk I report the magnetic structure of the compound as found with neutron powder diffraction, and discuss the exchanges necessary to lead to such a complex order.

*The work at IQM was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Material Sciences and Engineering, under Grant No. DEFG02-08ER46544.

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Authors

  • Allen Scheie

    • Johns Hopkins University

  • Kate Ross

    • Colorado State University

  • Elizabeth Seibel

    • Princeton University

  • Jose Rodriguez-Rivera

    • NIST

  • Collin Broholm

    • Johns Hopkins University

  • Robert Cava

    • Princeton University