- Editors' Suggestion
- Letter
Short-range spin freezing in the double trillium lattice spin-liquid candidate revealed via NMR
Phys. Rev. B 112, L220406 – Published 5 December, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/k3lw-2567
Abstract
A comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study, combined with thermodynamic measurements and first-principles band-structure calculations, has been conducted to explore the ground state of the double trillium lattice antiferromagnet . Our experimental results indicate that the magnetic ground state is neither a conventional three-dimensional (3D) long-range order (LRO) nor a pure gapless spin-liquid state, as conjectured previously [Boya et al., APL Mater. 10, 101103 (2022)]. Specifically, the observation of a nearly field-independent NMR linewidth below , and a significant enhancement of spin-spin relaxation rate below (where is the characteristic temperature identified from the magnetic susceptibility), indicate a complex magnetic ground state where spin freezing coexists with persistent dynamics. Furthermore, we argue that the lack of magnetic LRO and the persistence of strong magnetic fluctuations in are unlikely to originate from intersite K/Sr disorder, rather they arise due to intrinsic magnetic frustration. Our findings position into a broader family of geometrically frustrated magnets characterized by coexisting spin freezing and pronounced antiferromagnetic fluctuations, marking it as a promising platform for investigating exotic phenomena in 3D frustrated magnets.