Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Half-magnetization plateau stabilized by structural distortion in the antiferromagnetic heisenberg model on a
Karlo Penc1, Nic Shannon, Hiroyuki Shiba
1Research Institute for Theoretical Solid State Physics and Optics, H-1525 Budapest, P.O.B. 49, Hungary.
Abstract:
Magnetization plateaus, visible as anomalies in magnetic susceptibility at low temperatures, are one of the hallmarks of frustrated magnetism. We show how an extremely robust half-magnetization plateau can arise from coupling between spin and lattice degrees of freedom in a pyrochlore antiferromagnet and develop a detailed symmetry of analysis of the simplest possible scenario for such a plateau state. The application of this theory to the spinel oxides CdCr2O4 and HgCr2O4, where a robust half-magnetization plateau has been observed, is discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Ferromagnetism
Paramagnetism
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Relaxation Processes
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
Valence Bond Theory
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...

