Interlayer Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interactions in a Quasi-Two-Dimensional Spin 1/2 Antiferromagnet Cu(en)(H2O)2SO4

J. Chovana, b, c, L. Lederovád, A. Orendáčovád, R. Tarasenkod, V. Tkáčd, M. Orendáčd, D. Leguta, A. Feherd aIT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, CZ 708 33 Ostrava, Czech Republic bDepartment of Physics, Matej Bel University, Tajovského 40, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia cInternational Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekařská 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic dInstitute of Physics, P.J. Šafárik University, Park Angelinum 9, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia

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We present a theoretical study of magnetic interlayer exchange couplings in a quasi-two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet Cu(en)(H2O)2SO4 (en=C2H8N2). We use symmetry arguments to construct the most general form of interlayer spin exchange interactions, and discuss the significance of individual terms. Particular attention is paid to the antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya spin anisotropy, allowed for the interlayer interactions in the ab-planes. We argue that it should not lead to weak ferromagnetism of neither conventional nor hidden type. Instead, the distribution of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya vectors is typical for helimagnets. However, the occurrence of helimagnetism appears unlikely due to the assumed hierarchy of the magnitudes of spin interactions and the opposite chirality in adjacent ab-planes.

DOI:10.12693/APhysPolA.137.945 topics: magnetic anisotropy, Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, collinear Néel order