Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation

    Local magnetic order in the vacancy-disrupted spin ice Ho2TiO5

    Raju Baral1,*, Haidong Zhou2, Qiang Zhang1, Benjamin A. Frandsen3, and Stuart Calder1,†

    • *Contact author: baralr@ornl.gov
    • †Contact author: caldersa@ornl.gov

    Phys. Rev. B 114, 204417 – Published 16 October, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/r2kt-8sbh

    Abstract

    We investigate how local magnetic correlations evolve when the classical pyrochlore spin ice Ho2Ti2O7 is transformed into the partially disordered stuffed compound Ho2TiO5. Neutron scattering measurements were analyzed using real space magnetic pair distribution function, reciprocal space reverse Monte Carlo, and half-polarized neutron powder diffraction methods to connect the average crystal structure with local magnetic correlations. Both compounds retain long-range Fd3¯m symmetry, but in Ho2TiO5 the average structure does not fully capture the local Ho–O, Ti–O, and O–O bond-length disorder associated with partial Ho/Ti occupancy. Despite this disorder, half-polarized neutron powder diffraction shows that the Ho moments retain local 〈111〉 Ising anisotropy and form spin-in/spin-out configurations on the tetrahedral network. In Ho2Ti2O7, real- and reciprocal-space analyses show a nearly ideal 2-in/2-out spin ice state at 0.3 K, with ∼95% of tetrahedra satisfying the ice rule, followed by progressive thermal disordering on warming. In Ho2TiO5, most tetrahedra are magnetically incomplete because some tetrahedral vertices are occupied by nonmagnetic Ti rather than Ho; nevertheless, the dominant incomplete configurations are 2-in/1-out and 1-in/2-out, which are locally compatible with the ice rule if the missing Ho spin is restored. Ho2TiO5 is therefore a vacancy-disrupted spin ice in which the local 〈111〉 Ising character and short-range spin-in/spin-out correlations persist on a topologically incomplete magnetic network, while collective ice-rule correlations are strongly disrupted.

    Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

    Authorization Required

    We need you to provide your credentials before accessing this content.

    References (Subscription Required)

    Outline

    Information

    Sign In to Your Journals Account

    Filter

    Filter

    Article Lookup

    Enter a citation