Static, quasistatic, and quasidynamic Jahn-Teller effect in the EPR spectra ofAg2+in SrO, CaO, and MgO

Abstract
The EPR spectra observed for Ag2+ in the alkaline-earth-oxide host crystals SrO, CaO, and MgO provide an exceptionally clear example of the unusual spectral features associated with the transition from a static to a dynamic Jahn-Teller effect at low temperature. The spectrum observed for Ag2+ in SrO exhibits the low-temperature threefold tetragonal symmetry with symmetric line shapes and averaging at higher temperatures (80 to 200 K) which characterize the static Jahn-Teller (JT) effect. A threefold tetragonally symmetric spectrum is also observed for Ag2+ in CaO at 1.3 K, but, in this case, the line shapes are not symmetric and resemble those observed for systems exhibiting a dynamic JT effect. Additionally, a complex line shape is observed at 1.3 K for Ag2+ in CaO with the orientation H[111]. These line-shape effects are due to a value of the ratio of random strain splitting δ¯ to "tunneling" splitting 3Γ which is intermediate to those associated with either the static or dynamic JT effect. The complex line shapes observed at 9 GHz with H[111] have been computed by performing a numerical diagonalization of the matrix of strain and tunneling for the manifold of states consisting of the ground E2 and first-excited A2 vibronic singlet levels. From this calculation a value of 1.2 has been determined for the ratio δ¯3Γ. At a frequency of 23 GHz, the line shapes for Ag2+ in CaO exhibit additional effects due to the increased Zeeman interaction, and, by performing a simultaneous diagonalization of the strain, tunneling, and Zeeman matrices, it is possible to independently determine values of 4.7 and 3.9 cm1 for δ¯ and 3Γ, respectively. For Ag2+ in MgO, the angular variation of the EPR spectrum at 1.3 K resembles the type of variation typical of a dynamic JT system, but with one component shifted and broadened by coupling via random strain to a nearly excited A2 vibronic singlet level. A value of δ¯3Γ=0.13 was determined for Ag2+ in MgO by fitting the observed angular variation to a computed angular variation derived from a numerical diagonalization of the matrix of strain and tunneling for the E2A2 manifold. These observed features classify the JT effect as static, quasistatic, and quasidynamic for

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