Unravelling the signatures of effective spin <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>1</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>2</mml:mtext> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> moments in CeVO<sub>4</sub>: magnetization and heat capacity study
Dheeraj Ranaut, K. Mukherjee
Abstract
Abstract The realization of an effective spin ( J eff ) ½ state at low temperatures offers a platform to study the enthralling physics behind the disordered states in certain systems. Here, we report the signatures of magnetic ground state associated with J eff = ½ in CeVO 4 . Our studies confirm the absence of any ordering or freezing down to 1.8 K. In the low temperature region, the Curie–Weiss fit of the inverse DC susceptibility indicate towards the presence of antiferromagnetic correlations among the Ce 3+ spins. The calculated value of effective moment (∼1.16 <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>μ</mml:mi> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) corresponds to J = ½ with g J ∼ 1.20. Further, the field dependent magnetization curve at 2 K follows a behaviour corresponding to J = ½ Brillouin function with g J ∼ 1.13. Magnetic field dependent heat capacity fits very well with two-level Schottky scheme. Our investigations suggest that CeVO 4 can be a promising candidate to realise J eff = ½ properties among 3D spin systems.