Scientific Reports (Jun 2017)

Dielectric properties of complex magnetic field induced states in PbCuSO4(OH)2

  • T. Mack,
  • A. Ruff,
  • H.-A. Krug von Nidda,
  • A. Loidl,
  • S. Krohns

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04752-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Spin spirals, which coexist with collinear spin order in linarite PbCuSO4(OH)2, indicate electrical polarisation textures of spin-multipolar phases. We derive experimental evidence by a detailed investigation of the magnetic-field dependent dielectric and electric polarization properties at low temperatures. Linarite exhibits a quasi-one-dimensional frustrated S = ½ spin chain, which forms 3D spin-spiral order in zero magnetic field for T < 2.85 K. Recently, due to the monoclinic lattice of linarite with CuO2 ribbon chains, complex magnetic field induced states were found. These spin-multipolar phases, which compete with spin-density waves at low magnetic fields, exist in close vicinity to the transition from the spin spiral into field induced spin polarized state. Via antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction spin-driven ferroelectricity develops in the spin-spirals state. Via electric polarization measurements this allows to prove the transitions into complex magnetic field induced phases. Thorough analyses of the temperature and magnetic field dependent dielectric properties of a naturally grown single crystalline sample provide a detailed (T,H) phase diagrams for the three different crystallographic directions.