NQR study of the structural phase transitions in a system with reduced effective dimensionality: K2ReCl6

Abstract

Chlorine 35 nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) frequency and lineshape data, obtained with a Fourier transform magnetic resonance spectrometer, are presented for the antifluorite crystal K2ReCl6. In the temperature range investigated, 85 to 130 K, two structural phase transitions occur which reduce the crystal symmetry from cubic to tetragonal to monoclinic. The variation of the NQR spectrum with temperature and with hydrostatic pressure up to 2.64 kbar is documented. The structure of the spectrum and the intensity distribution within it are unexpected from previous studies of antifluorite systems. An explanation of the results is given which is based on recent discussions of nonlinear phenomena at phase transitions in crystals exhibiting reduced effective dimensionality.