%0 Journal Article %1 PhysRevB.101.245158 %A Gass, S. %A Cônsoli, P. M. %A Kocsis, V. %A Corredor, L. T. %A Lampen-Kelley, P. %A Mandrus, D. G. %A Nagler, S. E. %A Janssen, L. %A Vojta, M. %A Büchner, B. %A Wolter, A. U. B. %D 2020 %I American Physical Society %J Phys. Rev. B %K b %N 24 %P 245158 %R 10.1103/PhysRevB.101.245158 %T Field-induced transitions in the Kitaev material α-RuCl$_3$ probed by thermal expansion and magnetostriction %U https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.245158 %V 101 %X High-resolution thermal expansion and magnetostriction measurements were performed on single crystals of $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ in magnetic fields applied parallel to the Ru-Ru bonds. The length changes were measured in the direction perpendicular to the honeycomb planes. Our data show clear thermodynamic characteristics for the field-induced phase transition at the critical field $\mu_0H_c1 = 7.8(2)$ T where the antiferromagnetic zigzag order is suppressed. At higher fields, a kink in the magnetostriction coefficient signals an additional phase transition around $\mu_0H_c2 11$ T. The extracted Grüneisen parameter shows typical hallmarks for quantum criticality near $H_c1$, but also displays anomalous behavior above $H_c1$. We compare our experimental data with linear spin-wave calculations employing a minimal Kitaev-Heisenberg model in the semiclassical limit. Most of the salient features are in agreement with each other, however, the peculiar features in the high-field region above $H_c1$ cannot be accounted for in our modelling and hence suggest a genuine quantum nature. We construct a phase diagram for $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ showing two low-temperature transitions induced by an in-plane field along the Ru-Ru bonds.

@article{PhysRevB.101.245158, abstract = {High-resolution thermal expansion and magnetostriction measurements were performed on single crystals of $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ in magnetic fields applied parallel to the Ru-Ru bonds. The length changes were measured in the direction perpendicular to the honeycomb planes. Our data show clear thermodynamic characteristics for the field-induced phase transition at the critical field $\mu_0H_c1 = 7.8(2)$ T where the antiferromagnetic zigzag order is suppressed. At higher fields, a kink in the magnetostriction coefficient signals an additional phase transition around $\mu_0H_c2 11$ T. The extracted Grüneisen parameter shows typical hallmarks for quantum criticality near $H_c1$, but also displays anomalous behavior above $H_c1$. We compare our experimental data with linear spin-wave calculations employing a minimal Kitaev-Heisenberg model in the semiclassical limit. Most of the salient features are in agreement with each other, however, the peculiar features in the high-field region above $H_c1$ cannot be accounted for in our modelling and hence suggest a genuine quantum nature. We construct a phase diagram for $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ showing two low-temperature transitions induced by an in-plane field along the Ru-Ru bonds.}, added-at = {2020-12-28T17:40:16.000+0100}, author = {Gass, S. and C\^onsoli, P. M. and Kocsis, V. and Corredor, L. T. and Lampen-Kelley, P. and Mandrus, D. G. and Nagler, S. E. and Janssen, L. and Vojta, M. and B\"uchner, B. and Wolter, A. U. B.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/25545332b273c79649432e7b91285a7c2/ctqmat}, day = 25, description = {Phys. Rev. B 101, 245158 (2020) - Field-induced transitions in the Kitaev material $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}{\mathrm{RuCl}}_{3}$ probed by thermal expansion and magnetostriction}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevB.101.245158}, interhash = {6fb445675d587c1facc48728af67ed41}, intrahash = {5545332b273c79649432e7b91285a7c2}, journal = {Phys. Rev. B}, keywords = {b}, month = {6}, number = 24, numpages = {13}, pages = 245158, publisher = {American Physical Society}, timestamp = {2023-10-20T08:07:12.000+0200}, title = {Field-induced transitions in the Kitaev material α-RuCl$_{\mathbf{3}}$ probed by thermal expansion and magnetostriction}, url = {https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.245158}, volume = 101, year = 2020 }