Spin-phonon coupling induced frustration in the exactly solved spin-1/2 Ising model on a decorated planar lattice

Spin-1/2 Ising model with a spin-phonon coupling on decorated planar lattices partially amenable to lattice vibrations is examined using the decoration-iteration transformation and harmonic approximation. It is shown that the magnetoelastic coupling gives rise to an effective antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbour interaction, which competes with the nearest-neighbour interaction and is responsible for a frustration of decorating spins. A strong enough spin-phonon coupling consequently leads to an appearance of striking partially ordered and partially disordered phase, where a perfect antiferromagnetic alignment of nodal spins is accompanied with a complete disorder of decorating spins. Thermal dependences of the specific heat are explored in detail.

► Decorated planar Ising model with a magnetoelastic coupling is exactly solved. ► Spin-phonon coupling induces a unusual spin frustration. ► Antiferromagnetic long-range order may coexist with a partial disorder. ► Temperature variations of total specific heat depends on a spin-phonon coupling.