  We have synthesized and characterized a new spin-1/2 Heisenberg
antiferromagnetic ladder: bis 5-iodo-2-aminopyridinium tetrabromocuprate(II)
dihydrate. X-ray diffraction studies show the structure of the compound to
consist of well isolated stacked ladders and the interaction between the Cu(2+)
atoms to be due to direct Br...Br contacts. Magnetic susceptibility and
magnetization studies show the compound to be in the strong-coupling limit,
with the interaction along the rungs (J' ~ 13 K) much greater than the
interaction along the rails (J ~ 1 K). Magnetic critical fields are observed
near 8.3 T and 10.4 T, respectively, establishing the existence of the energy
gap.
