Stripe antiferromagnetic order and spin dynamics in the Shastry-Sutherland Ising compound Er2Be2GeO7

Abstract

In rare-earth compounds, the interplay between geometric frustration and unusual single-ion anisotropy caused by the crystal electric field often leads to exotic magnetic phases. Here, we investigate the magnetic properties of the rare-earth Shastry-Sutherland compound Er$_2$Be$_2$GeO$_7$ using bulk measurements and neutron scattering down to sub-Kelvin temperatures. A $k=(0,0,0)$ stripe-like antiferromagnetic order with locally tilted Er$^{3+}$ moments is revealed by time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction, accompanied with a $\lambda$-shape specific-heat anomaly at $T_N=0.84$ K. The temperature dependence of the magnetic peak intensity corresponding to the ordered moment of Er$^{3+}$ approximates to the two-dimensional Ising universality class. Thermal- and cold-neutron inelastic scattering experiments demonstrate that the strong Ising anisotropy originates from the local crystal electric field, and reveal gapped magnetic excitations with weak dispersion in the ordered state. Mean-field random-phase approximation with inequivalent nearest-neighbor couplings accounts well for the collective excitations, while classical Monte Carlo simulations yield the fractional $1/4$ and $1/2$ magnetization plateaus. Our work provides a comprehensive description of the spin correlations in Er$_2$Be$_2$GeO$_7$ with a particular focus on the classical origin of its fractional magnetization plateaus.