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    Strong effects of uniaxial pressure and short-range correlations in Cr2Ge2Te6
    (College Park, MD : APS, 2022) Spachmann, S.; Elghandour, A.; Selter, S.; Büchner, B.; Aswartham, S.; Klingeler, R.
    Cr2Ge2Te6 is a quasi-two-dimensional semiconducting van der Waals ferromagnet down to the bilayer with great potential for technological applications. Engineering the critical temperature to achieve room-temperature applications is one of the critical next steps on this path. Here, we report high-resolution capacitance dilatometry studies on Cr2Ge2Te6 single crystals which directly prove significant magnetoelastic coupling and provide quantitative values of the large uniaxial pressure effects on long-range magnetic order (∂TC/∂pc=24.7 K/GPa and ∂TC/∂pab=−15.6 K/GPa) derived from thermodynamic relations. Moderate in-plane strain is thus sufficient to strongly enhance ferromagnetism in Cr2Ge2Te6 up to room temperature. Moreover, unambiguous signs of short-range magnetic order up to 200 K are found.
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    Pressure-induced dimerization and valence bond crystal formation in the Kitaev-Heisenberg magnet α-RuCl3
    (College Park, MD : American Physical Society, 2018) Bastien, G.; Garbarino, G.; Yadav, R.; Martinez-Casado, F.J.; Beltrán, Rodríguez, R.; Stahl, Q.; Kusch, M.; Limandri, S.P.; Ray, R.; Lampen-Kelley, P.; Mandrus, D.G.; Nagler, S.E.; Roslova, M.; Isaeva, A.; Doert, T.; Hozoi, L.; Wolter, A.U.B.; Büchner, B.; Geck, J.; Van Den Brink, J.
    Magnetization and high-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements of the Kitaev-Heisenberg material α-RuCl3 reveal a pressure-induced crystallographic and magnetic phase transition at a hydrostatic pressure of p∼0.2 GPa. This structural transition into a triclinic phase is characterized by a very strong dimerization of the Ru-Ru bonds, accompanied by a collapse of the magnetic susceptibility. Ab initio quantum-chemistry calculations disclose a pressure-induced enhancement of the direct 4d-4d bonding on particular Ru-Ru links, causing a sharp increase of the antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. These combined experimental and computational data show that the Kitaev spin-liquid phase in α-RuCl3 strongly competes with the crystallization of spin singlets into a valence bond solid.