Spin-orbit origin of large reduction of the effective moment in Na2V3O7*

Abstract

We have shown that the observed large reduction of the effective moment and the drastic violation of the Curie-Weiss law in Na2V3O7 (Phys. Rev. Lett. 90 (2003) 167202) is caused by conventional crystal-field interactions and the intra-atomic spin-orbit coupling of the V4+ ion. The fine discrete electronic structure of the 3d1 configuration with the weakly-magnetic Kramers-doublet ground state, caused by the large orbital moment, is the reason for anomalous properties of Na2V3O7. Moreover, according to the Quantum Atomistic Solid-State Theory (QUASST) Na2V3O7 is expected to exhibit pronounced heavy-fermion phenomena at low temperatures. PACS: 71.70.E, 75.10.D Keywords: crystal-field interactions, spin-orbit coupling, orbital moment, Na2V3O7