Hall 123

Geometrically frustrated magnetism: Competition among cooperative phases and order by disorder


Prof. E V Sampathkumaran

TIFR, Mumbai

The phenomenon of geometrically frustrated magnetism is one of the important topics of research in modern condensed matter physics. In this talk, I will discuss magnetic behavior of two (rather new) distinct different families of materials, namely spin-chain oxides and Kagome intermetallics (Ca3Co2O6 and its derivatives and R3Ru4Al12 respectively), mainly to bring out that (non-trivial) cooperative phases tend to compete, before attaining complex antiferromagnetic ground states, presumably as a manifestation of geometrical frustration. We also provide evidence that an increase of disorder tends to favour long-range magnetic order in this oxide family.