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Incommensurate magnetic order arising from frustrated interchain interactions in the spin-12 chain compound AgCuVO4

A. Hromov1,2, A. Zorko1,2, M. Gomilšek1,2, I. Puente Orench3, L. Keller4, T. Shiroka4,5, A. Prokofiev6, and M. Pregelj1,2,*

  • *Contact author: matej.pregelj@ijs.si
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Phys. Rev. B 112, 134433 – Published 20 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/htsq-xl8t

Abstract

Quantum spin chains with competing interactions offer a platform where low dimensionality and frustration—both acting to suppress magnetic order—intersect. We studied magnetic ordering in the spin-12 chain compound AgCuVO4 using muon spin spectroscopy and neutron diffraction. Long-range magnetic order emerges at TN=2.0(1)K, which is ∼1/200 of the dominant intrachain coupling J and ∼1/15 of the interchain interactions. The collinear incommensurate amplitude-modulated magnetic structure features a reduced ordered moment of 0.13(3)µB, confined to the ab plane and modulated along the c axis—perpendicular to the spin chains—indicating frustrated interchain couplings. The low TN, small moment, and incommensurate order highlight strong frustration, positioning AgCuVO4 as a model system for exploring frustration in quantum spin chains.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 134433– Published 20 October, 2025
  • Received 25 July 2025
  • Accepted 30 September 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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