Magnetoelastic coupling at spin-glass-like transition in Sr3NiSb2O9

We report a characteristic spin-glass-like behavior in Sr3NiSb2O9, as confirmed from the low-field dc magnetometry and ac susceptibility measurements. The memory effects in the dc magnetometry exhibit similar characteristic features of the spin-glass systems. The ac susceptibility measurements provide that the frequency dependent peak-shift follows the conventional Vogel-Fulcher and dynamical scaling laws with the characteristic relaxation time to be ∼ 10−14 s. This relaxation time fits in the recommended range of ∼ 10 − 12 − 10 − 14 s for the classical spin-glasses. Low temperature synchrotron diffraction studies point to the strong magnetoelastic coupling close to the spin-glass-like transition. The transition is found to be associated with the step-like anomalous lattice contraction. Possible origin of magnetic frustration leading to the spin-glass ground state is discussed by correlating the microstructural results, as obtained from the analysis of synchrotron diffraction studies.