We have carried out dc magnetization (M), heat-capacity (C) and dielectric
studies down to 2K for the compound GdCrTiO5, crystallizing in orthorhombic
Pbam structure, in which well-known multiferroics RMn2O5 (R= Rare-earths) form.
The points of emphasis are: (i) The magnetic ordering temperature of Cr appears
to be suppressed compared to that in isostructural Nd counterpart, NdCrTiO5,
for which the Neel temperature is about 21 K. This finding on the Gd compound
suggests that Nd 4f orbital plays a role on the magnetism of Cr in contrast to
a proposal long ago. (ii) Dielectric constant does not exhibit any notable
feature below about 30 K in the absence of external magnetic field, but a peak
appears and gets stronger with the application of external magnetic fields,
supporting the existence of magnetodielectric coupling. (iii) The dielectric
anomalies appear even near 100 K, which can be attributed to short-range
magnetic-order. We also observe a gain in spectral weight below about 150 K in
Raman spectra in the frequency range 150 to 400 cm-1, which could be magnetic
in origin supporting short-range magnetic order. It is of interest to explore
whether geometrically frustration plays any role on the dielectric properties
of this family, as in the case of RMn2O5.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, manuscript submitte