Thermal Conductivity and Specific Heat of the Spin-Ice Compound Dy${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$: Experimental Evidence for Monopole Heat Transport

Abstract

Elementary excitations in the spin-ice compound Dy${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$ can be described as magnetic monopoles propagating independently within the pyrochlore lattice formed by magnetic Dy ions. We studied the magnetic-field dependence of the thermal conductivity κ(B) for B || [001] and observe clear evidence for magnetic heat transport originating from the monopole excitations. The magnetic contribution κ_{mag} is strongly field-dependent and correlates with the magnetization M(B). The diffusion coefficient obtained from the ratio of κ_{mag} and the magnetic specific heat is strongly enhanced below 1 K indicating a high mobility of the monopole excitations in the spin-ice state.

5 pages, 4 figures