Publication
We demonstrate the existence of the spin-nematic interactions in an easy-plane type antiferromagnet Ba2CoGe2O7 by exploring the magnetic anisotropy and spin dynamics. The combination of neutron scattering and magnetic susceptibility measurements reveals that the origin of the in-plane anisotropy is an antiferro-type interaction of the spin-nematic operator. The relation between the nematic operator and the electric polarization in the ligand symmetry of this compound is presented. The introduction of the spin-nematic interaction is useful to understand the physics of spin and electric dipole in multiferroic compounds.
Bruce Normand, Ying Chen, Sheng Xu, Shuo Li, Xiaoyu Xu, Zeyu Wang, Weiqiang Yu
Ellen Fogh, Sofie Janas, Paola Caterina Forino