| Summary: | The robustness of spin liquids with respect to small perturbations, and the way magnetic frustration can be lifted by slight changes in the balance between competing magnetic interactions, remains a rich and open issue. We address this question through the study of the gadolinium aluminum garnet Gd3Al5O12, a related compound to the extensively studied Gd3Ga5O12. We report on its magnetic properties at very low temperatures. We show that despite a freezing at about 300 mK, no magnetic transition is observed, suggesting the presence of a spin-liquid state down to the lowest temperatures, similarly to Gd3Ga5O12, in spite of a larger ratio between exchange and dipolar interactions. Finally, the phase diagram as a function of field and temperature is strongly reminiscent of the one reported in Gd3Ga5O12. This study reveals the robust nature of the spin-liquid phase for Gd ions on the garnet lattice, in stark contrast to Gd ions on the pyrochlore lattice for which a slight perturbation drives the compound into a range of magnetically ordered states.
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