We have performed muon spin relaxation measurements of the frustrated kagome lattice spin system SrCr8Ga4019. Our results demonstrate the slowing down of the Cr spin fluctuations when cooling toward the susceptibility-cusp temperature Tg 3 5 K The saturation of the relaxation rate below Tg, together with its weak dependence on longitudinal field (LF) between 0 and 2 kG, indicates the presence of dynamic spin fluctuations persisting even at T -100 mK without static order parameter. We propose a spin-liquid type ground state to explain an undecouplable Gaussian shape of the relaxation function observed at T~T , .
The archetype of geometrically frustrated compounds SrCr 9 p Ga 12Ϫ9 p O 19 is a kagomé bilayer of Heisenberg Cr 3ϩ ions (Sϭ3/2) with antiferromagnetic interactions. We present an extensive gallium nuclear magnetic resonance ͑NMR͒ study over a broad Cr-concentration range (0.72рpр0.95). This allows us to probe locally the susceptibility of the kagomé bilayer and separate the intrinsic properties due to geometric frustration from those related to site dilution. Compared to the partial study on one sample, pϭ0.90, presented in Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 3496 ͑2000͒, we perform here a refined study of the evolution of all the magnetic properties with dilution, with a great emphasis on the lowest diluted pϭ0.95 sample synthesized for this study. Our major findings are the following ͑1͒ The intrinsic kagomé bilayer susceptibility reaches a maximum at a temperature of Ϸ40Ϫ50 K, which we show here to be robust up to a dilution as high as Ϸ20%; this maximum is the signature of the development of short-range antiferromagnetic correlations in the kagomé bilayer. ͑2͒ At low T, a highly dynamical state induces a strong wipeout of the NMR intensity, regardless of dilution. ͑3͒ The low-T upturn of the macroscopic susceptibility is associated with paramagnetic defects, which stem from the dilution of the kagomé bilayer. The low-T analysis of the pϭ0.95 NMR line shape, coupled with a more accurate determination of the nuclear Hamiltonian at high T, allows us to discuss in detail the nature of the defect. Our analysis suggests that the defect can be associated with a staggered spin response to the vacancies of the kagomé bilayer. This, altogether with the maximum in the kagomé bilayer susceptibility, is very similar to what is observed in most low-dimensional antiferromagnetic correlated systems, even those with a short spin-spin correlation length. ͑4͒ The spin-glass-like freezing observed at T g Ϸ2 -4 K is not driven by the dilutioninduced defects.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.