Anisotropic magneto-elastic coupling in the quasi-2D Ising magnet Li$_2$FeSiO$_4$ and thermodynamic signature of low-energy orbital excitations
The relevance of spin, lattice and orbital degrees of freedom in the quasi-2D Ising-like magnet Li$_2$FeSiO$_4$ is demonstrated by thermal expansion and specific heat measurements supported by numerical studies. By means of thermodynamic and Gr\"uneisen analysis, we separate the orbital signatures and quantify the ener...