| High field experiments in general can provide a deep insight into the magnetism of compounds with weak and intermediate exchange couplings. Unfortunately, in case of complex systems the evaluation of the experimental data is unambiguous and yields physically different models. This is the case for the mineral azurite Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 which shows a 1/3 magnetization plateau in the range 11-30 T [Kikuchi et al., PRL 94, 227201 (2005)]. The experiments have been described basing on several contradictory models. The underlying reason for the disagreement is the unambiguous derivation of relevant exchange integrals. Here, we present the results of the DFT electronic structure calculations which provide coupling constants on a microscopic basis. By applying two different methods, we estimate the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic contributions to the total exchange. |
|