ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

An S = 1/2 chiral staggered chain in a magnetic field

Abstract: The molecule-based chiral spin chain, [Cu(pyrimidine)(H2O)4]SiF6·H2O exhibits staggered g-tensors, a rich low-temperature excitation spectrum and a spin gap that opens on application of magnetic field. These phenomena are reminiscent of those previously observed in non-chiral staggered chains, which are explicable within the sine-Gordon (SG) quantum-field theory. In our case, however, the size of the gap and its measured linear field dependence do not fit with the SG model as it stands. We have proposed that the differences arise due to additional terms in the Hamiltonian resulting from the chiral structure, particularly a uniform Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya coupling and a four-fold periodic staggered field. These proposals can be confirmed via determination of the static magnetic structure of the gapped ground state that exists at low temperatures under small applied magnetic fields.

Principal Investigator: Dr Paul Goddard
Experimenter: Dr Robert Williams
Experimenter: Mr Sam Curley
Experimenter: Professor Jamie Manson
Experimenter: Dr Rebecca Scatena
Experimenter: Dr Roger Johnson
Local Contact: Dr Pascal Manuel

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1910030

ISIS Experiment Number: RB1910030

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Paul Goddard et al; (2019): An S = 1/2 chiral staggered chain in a magnetic field, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1910030

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.