Competing Ordering Modes in the Distorted Quantum Kagome Material Clinoatacamite Cu 2 Cl ( OH ) 3
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We have studied the magnetic properties of clinoatacamite Cu_{2}Cl(OH)_{3}, the parent compound of the quantum spin liquid candidate herbertsmithite and a long-standing puzzle among frustrated quantum magnets. As we reveal using density-functional theory, clinoatacamite belongs to the class of distorted kagome antiferromagnets with the kagome plane being embedded into a low-symmetry crystal structure. By means of thermodynamic measurements, muon spin rotation and relaxation, as well as neutron diffraction on single crystals, we find in zero magnetic field complex behavior below T_{I}=18.1 K which unfolds in three temperature regions I-III. We propose this complexity in multicritical clinoatacamite to arise from the competition of antiferromagnetic ordering modes from the underconstrained manifold of modes, which can lead to a metamagnetic texture in zero field.
Source: Physical Review Letters
DOI: 10.1103/xmh8-68vk
Authors: L. Stödter, C. Kastner, H. O. Jeschke, M. Reehuis, E. Chan, M.-H. Lemée-Cailleau, K. Beauvois, B. Ouladdiaf, F. Yokaichiya, F. Bert, T. J. Hicken, J. A. Krieger, H. Luetkens, J. L. Allen, R. Feyerherm, M. Tovar, D. Menzel, A. U. B. Wolter, B. Büchner, K. C. Rule, F. J. Litterst, U. K. Rößler, S. Süllow
Institutions: Forschungszentrum Jülich, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Okayama University, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Institut Laue-Langevin, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris-Saclay, Laboratoire de physique des Solides, Paul Scherrer Institute, University of Wollongong, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Complexity, Topology and Dynamics in Quantum Matter, Technische Universität Dresden, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
Awards: G1533769778, G16727824, G2152757567, Identification of technologically relevant altermagnets, G5099387829, Quantum Spin Liquids: Ground states, Impurities and Excitations, EXC 2147: Komplexität und Topologie in Quantenmaterialien (CT.QMAT), G7262109487, SFB 1143: Korrelierter Magnetismus: Von Frustration zu Topologie, G905520289, G936330020
OpenAlex ID: W7169874559