Magnetization Step in Spatially Distorted Heisenberg Kagome Antiferromagnets

Abstract

Motivated by a recent experiment on volborthite, a typical spin-$1/2$ antiferromagnet with a kagom\'{e} lattice structure, we study the magnetization process of a classical Heisenberg model on a spatially distorted kagom\'{e} lattice using the Monte Carlo (MC) method. We find a distortion-induced magnetization step at low temperatures and low magnetic fields. The magnitude of this step is given by $\Delta m_z=\left|1-\alpha\right|/3\alpha$ at zero temperature, where $\alpha$ denotes the spatial anisotropy in exchange constants. The magnetization step signals a first-order transition at low temperatures, between two phases distinguished by distinct and well-developed short-range spin correlations, one characterized by spin alignment of a local $120^{\circ}$ structure with a $\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3}$ period, and the other by a partially spin-flopped structure. We point out the relevance of our results to the unconventional steps observed in volborthite.