Geometrical magnetic frustration beyond insulating ionic compounds
Magnetic systems with competing interactions can adopt exotic ground states. A particularly promising class is that of the geometrically frustrated magnets in which unusual spin liquids appear, such as in oxides where magnetic moments form pyrochlore or kagome networks. Phases of correlated magnetic moments that remain disordered can couple to the lattice or to the conduction electrons. We are investigating frustrated magnets where the chemical bonding properties or the conduction state deviate from that of an insulating ionic material. In this Master project we will crystallize such novel frustrated magnets and investigate their physics using both macroscopic and neutron diffraction measurements.