Magnetic field induced ordering in SrDy2O4

Abstract

Heat capacity measurements were used to investigate the magnetic ordering processes in single crystal samples of SrDy2O4 in a magnetic field applied along the [010] and [001] directions. In zero field this compound appears to be magnetically disordered down to at least 0.39 K. A magnetic field applied along the [010] direction induces a very sharp transition at 20 kOe, seen as a strong peak in the heat capacity versus field, C(H) curves, while for H // [001], the magnetisation process is accompanied by the development of only broad features in the C(H) curves. The process of field induced ordering in \sdo\ appears to be rather remarkable even in the context of the unusual phase transitions observed in other geometrically frustrated magnetic systems consisting of hexagons and triangles.