Kinetically Inhibited Order in a Diamond-Lattice Antiferromagnet

Abstract

Frustrated magnetic systems exhibit highly degenerate ground states and strong fluctuations, often leading to new physics. An intriguing example of current interest is the antiferromagnet on a diamond lattice, realized physically in the A-site spinel materials. This is a prototypical system in three dimensions where frustration arises from competing interactions rather than purely geometric constraints, and theory suggests the possibility of novel order at low temperature. Here we present a comprehensive single crystal neutron scattering study CoAl2O4, a highly frustrated A-site spinel. We observe strong diffuse scattering that peaks at wavevectors associated with Neel ordering. Below the temperature T*=6.5K, there is a dramatic change in elastic scattering lineshape accompanied by the emergence of well-defined spin-wave excitations. T* had previously been associated with the onset of glassy behavior. Our new results suggest instead that in fact T* signifies a first-order phase transition, but with true long-range order inhibited by the kinetic freezing of domain walls. This scenario might be expected to occur widely in frustrated systems containing first-order phase transitions and is a natural explanation for existing reports of anomalous glassy behavior in other materials.