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    Cr3+ spin dynamics under the octahedral crystal field in van der Waals antiferromagnets

    Rabindra Basnet1, Subhashree Chatterjee1, Paul Kigaya1, Ezana Negusse1, J. van Tol2, and Ramesh C. Budhani1,*

    • *Contact author: ramesh.budhani@morgan.edu

    Phys. Rev. B 113, 094441 – Published 20 March, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/t7pz-yvz6

    Abstract

    The magnetic moment in van der Waals (vdW) materials containing 3d transition metals originates from unpaired d-electron spins and their interaction with surrounding ligands. The interplay between exchange interactions and magnetic anisotropy stabilizes long-range ordering of such moments. The compound CuCrP2S6 (CCPS) presents an interesting class of vdW solids where the coupling of Cr3+ moments and ordering of Cu1+ ions give rise to a multiferroic ground state. Here we investigate the spin dynamics of Cr3+ ions in CCPS through magnetization and broadband as well as single sub-THz magnetic resonance measurements. The orbital moment of Cr3+ is quenched under the octahedral crystal field of surrounding chalcogen ions, resulting in negligible magnetic anisotropy—a feature common to Cr-based vdW antiferromagnets (AFM). Resonance spectra over a wide frequency-field-temperature range reveal quasi-2D AFM dynamics governed mainly by isotropic Cr-Cr exchange interactions, which determine the magnetic order, spin reorientation, and damping. Sub-THz resonance spectra also uncover a field-induced ferromagnetic polarization, highlighting the universal role of Cr-Cr exchange in layered Cr compounds. Moreover, persistent magnetic correlations far above the Néel temperature (TN≈32K) points to a short-range magnetic order in CCPS and motivate future studies of a possible interplay between AFM and antiferroelectric orders. These results establish CCPS as an exemplary system for exploring 2D magnetism and electric-field-tunable spintronic functionalities in layered multiferroics.

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