Signatures of spin-glass state formation in PrRuSn

We report the magnetic, electronic, and transport properties of PrRuSn with the TiNiSi-structure type. A short-range correlation is observed near T_f = 4.5 K in the magnetic susceptibility data, which is attributed to a spin-glass freezing state below this temperature. This is further supported by the frequency dependence of ac magnetic susceptibility and the thermoremanent magnetization data. The relative shift of the freezing temperature per decade in frequency, δT_f = 0.026, which, along with the slow decay in thermo-remnant magnetization, provides support for the formation of a cluster spin-glass in PrRuSn. We discuss the plausible scenarios that give rise to the realization of a spin-glass ground state in this compound. PrRuSn presents yet another example of the evolution of a spin-glass state in a well-ordered crystal structure with a well-localized magnetic moment.