%0 Journal Article
%T A cascade of magnetic field induced spin transitions in LaCoO3
%A M. M. Altarawneh
%A G. -W. Chern
%A N. Harrison
%A C. D. Batista
%A A. Uchida
%A M. Jaime
%A D. G. Rickel
%A S. A. Crooker
%A C. H. Mielke
%A J. B. Betts
%A J. F. Mitchell
%A M. J. R. Hoch
%J Physics
%D 2012
%I arXiv
%R 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.037201
%X We present magnetization and magnetostriction studies of the insulating perovskite LaCoO3 in magnetic fields approaching 100 T. In marked contrast with expectations from single-ion models, the data reveal two distinct first-order spin transitions and well-defined magnetization plateaux. The magnetization at the higher plateau is only about half the saturation value expected for spin-1 Co3+ ions. These findings strongly suggest collective behavior induced by strong interactions between different electronic -- and therefore spin -- configurations of Co3+ ions. We propose a model of these interactions that predicts crystalline spin textures and a cascade of four magnetic phase transitions at high fields, of which the first two account for the experimental data.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1206.2603v1