Investigation of the Magnetic Ground State of Cr Intercalated ZrTe2 using μSR

The exploration of layered van der Waals (vdW) materials, particularly two-dimensional (2D) systems like layered transition metal dichalcogenides, has revealed a wealth of exotic physical phenomena with potential technological applications. Intercalation of 3d transition metals into layered transition metal dichalcogenides introduces tunable magnetic interactions, enabling the realization of long-range magnetic ordering and novel spin textures relevant to spintronic applications. Cr-intercalated compounds exhibit complex magnetic behaviors due to competition between various exchange mechanisms such as superexchange, Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya, and RKKY interactions. ZrTe₂, a topologically intriguing, layered transition metal dichalcogenide, has demonstrated superconductivity and Dirac fermion signatures upon chemical modification, yet its magnetic properties under transition metal intercalation remain largely unexplored. In Cr-intercalated ZrTe₂, the site occupancy of Cr atoms leads to intricate magnetic interactions and competing phases. This proposal aims to unravel the magnetic ground state of Cr-intercalated ZrTe₂ through local probe techniques, providing microscopic insight into the role of intercalant site disorder on magnetic exchange and correlations.