Vibronic and magnetic excitations in the spin-orbital liquid state of FeSc2S4

Phys Rev Lett. 2005 Jun 17;94(23):237402. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.237402. Epub 2005 Jun 16.

Abstract

Inelastic neutron scattering results on the spin-orbital liquid in FeSc2S4 are presented. This sulfospinel reveals strong geometric frustration in the spin and in the orbital sector. In the present experiments the orbital liquid is evidenced by a clear spectroscopic signature of a dynamic Jahn-Teller effect with a vibronic splitting 3Gamma approximately 2 meV in agreement with theoretical estimates. The excitations of the spin liquid reveal strong dispersion and can be characterized as cooperative spin excitations in a supercooled paramagnet with a spin gap of Delta approximately 0.2 meV.