Analysis of the phonon spectrum in the titanium oxyhalide TiOBr

We present the electrodynamic response of TiOBr, which undergoes a transition to a spin-singlet ground state for temperatures below T-Cl =: 28 K. The temperature evolution of the phonon anomalies indicates, like in TiOCl, an extended fluctuation regime, extending well above T-Cl. At low frequencies, the spectral weight is progressively suppressed by decreasing the temperature, suggesting the formation of a spin-gap and a considerable electron-phonon coupling. A comparison of the two oxyhalides shows a weaker interplane coupling and reduced dimensionality for TiOBr that enhances fluctuations and shifts the ordering temperatures to lower values. In the fluctuation regime the temperature dependences of some phonon parameters track the temperature evolution of the magnetic susceptibility.