Staggered moment dependence on field-tuned quantum fluctuations in 2D frustrated antiferromagnets

Abstract

We propose an efficient method to identify the degree of frustration in quasi-2D antiferromagnets described by the J_1-J_2 Heisenberg model. The frustration ratio J_2/J_1 is usually obtained from analysis of susceptibility, specific heat and saturation field. We show that the non-monotonic field dependence of the staggered moment caused by the suppression of quantum fluctuations in a field depends strongly on the frustration ratio. This gives a powerful criterion to determine J_2/J_1 using a combination of exact diagonalization (ED) method for finite clusters and spin wave analysis. We apply this method to the quasi-2D compound Cu(pz)_2(ClO_4)_2 and show that it leads to an intermediate ratio J_2/J_1 ~ 0.2 for the frustration. We also explain the observed anomalous increase of transition temperature in applied fields as an effect of reduced quantum fluctuations.