Observation of a Transient Magnetization Plateau in a Quantum Antiferromagnet on the Kagome Lattice
Abstract
The magnetization process of an S=1/2 antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice, [Cu3(titmb)2(OCOCH3)6]H2O titmb= 1,3,5-tris(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)-2,4,6 trimethylbenzene has been measured at very low temperatures in both pulsed and steady fields. We have found a new dynamical behavior in the magnetization process: a plateau at one third of the saturation magnetization appears in the pulsed field experiments for intermediate sweep rates of the magnetic field and disappears in the steady field experiments. A theoretical analysis using exact diagonalization yields J1=-19K and J2=6K, for the nearest neighbor and second nearest neighbor interactions, respectively. This set of exchange parameters explains the very low saturation field and the absence of the plateau in the thermodynamic equilibrium as well as the two-peak feature in the magnetic heat capacity. Supported by numerical results we argue that a dynamical order by disorder phenomenon could explain the transient appearance of the 1/3 plateau in pulsed field experiments.
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