Crystal field levels and magnetic anisotropy in the kagome compounds Nd3Sb3Mg2O14, Nd3Sb3Zn2O14, and Pr3Sb3Mg2O14

Abstract

We report the crystal field levels of several newly discovered rare-earth kagome compounds: Nd3Sb3Mg2O14, Nd3Sb3Zn2O14, and Pr3Sb3Mg2O14. We determine the crystal electric field (CEF) Hamiltonian by fitting to neutron scattering data using a point charge Hamiltonian as an intermediate fitting step. The fitted Hamiltonians accurately reproduce bulk susceptibility measurements, and the results indicate easy-axis ground-state doublets for Nd3Sb3Mg2O14 and Nd3Sb3Zn2O14 and a singlet ground state for Pr3Sb3Mg2O14. These results provide the groundwork for future investigations of these compounds and a template for CEF analysis of other low-symmetry materials.