Abstract
Motivated by the possibility of enhanced magnetic fluctuations in exfoliated α-RuCl3 flakes, we study magneto-Raman spectra of exfoliated multilayer α-RuCl3 in out-of-plane magnetic fields of −6 to 6 T at temperatures of 670 mK to 4 K. While the literature currently suggests that bulk α-RuCl3 is in an antiferromagnetic zigzag phase with R3̅ symmetry at low temperatures, we do not observe R3̅ symmetry in exfoliated α-RuCl3 at low temperatures. While we saw no magnetic field-driven transitions, the Raman modes exhibit unexpected stochastic shifts in response to the applied magnetic field that are above the uncertainties inferred from Bayesian analysis. These stochastic shifts are consistent with the emergence of magnetostrictive interactions in exfoliated α-RuCl3.
