Two dimensional magnetic correlation in the unconventional corrugated layered oxides (Ba,Sr)₄Mn₃O₁₀.

Both Ba4Mn3O10 and Sr4Mn3O10 crystallize in an orthorhombic crystal structure consisting of corrugated layers containing Mn3O12 polydedra. The thermal variation of magnetic susceptibility of the compositions consists of a broad hump like feature indicating the presence of low dimensional magnetic correlation. We have systematically investigated the magnetic data of these compounds and found that the experimental results match quite well with the two dimensional Heisenberg model of spin-spin interaction. The two dimensional nature of the magnetic spin-spin interaction is supported by the low temperature heat capacity data of Ba4Mn3O10. Interestingly, both the samples show dielectric anomaly near the magnetic ordering temperature indicating multiferroic behavior.