Antiferromagnetic Spin Ice Correlations at (1/2,1/2,1/2) in the Ground State of the Pyrochlore Magnet Tb2Ti2O7

Abstract

We present high-resolution single crystal time-of-flight neutron scattering measurements on the candidate quantum spin liquid pyrochlore Tb2Ti2O7 at low temperature and in a magnetic field. At ~70 mK and in zero field, Tb2Ti2O7 reveals diffuse magnetic elastic scattering at (1/2,1/2,1/2) positions in reciprocal space, consistent with short-range correlated regions based on a two-in, two-out spin ice configuration on a doubled conventional unit cell. This elastic scattering is separated from very low-energy magnetic inelastic scattering by an energy gap of ~0.06-0.08 meV. The elastic signal disappears under the application of small magnetic fields and upon elevating temperature. Pinch-point-like elastic diffuse scattering is observed near (1,1,1) and (0,0,2) in zero field at ~70 mK, in agreement with Fennell et al. (Ref. 1), supporting the quantum spin ice interpretation of Tb2Ti2O7.

7 pages, 6 figures. Replaced previous version with now published version with corrected figure 5

References in corpus (7)

• Dirac Strings and Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice Dy2Ti2O7
• Dynamically-Induced Frustration as a Route to a Quantum Spin Ice State in Tb2Ti2O7 via Virtual Crystal Field Excitations and Quantum Many-Body Effects
• Definitive Evidence for Order-by-Quantum-Disorder in Er2Ti2O7
• Quantum order by disorder and accidental soft mode Er2Ti2O7
• Lightly stuffed pyrochlore structure of single-crystalline Yb2Ti2O7 grown by the optical floating zone technique
• Is the Yb2Ti2O7 pyrochlore a quantum spin ice?
• Field Induced Order and Spin Waves in the Pyrochlore Antiferromagnet Tb2Ti2O7

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Quantum Spin Ice Dynamics in the Dipole-Octupole Pyrochlore Magnet Ce${}_2$Zr${}_2$O${}_7$
• Magnetic field effects in an octupolar quantum spin liquid candidate
• Incipient Ferromagnetism in Tb2Ge2O7: Application of Chemical Pressure to the Enigmatic Spin Liquid, Tb2Ti2O7
• Experimental identification of electric dipoles induced by magnetic monopoles in Tb2Ti2O7
• Quenched crystal field disorder and magnetic liquid ground states in Tb2Sn2-xTixO7
• Low temperature crystal structure and local magnetometry for the geometrically frustrated pyrochlore Tb2Ti2O7
• Effective spin-1/2 exchange interactions in Tb${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$
• Intertwined Magnetic Dipolar and Electric Quadrupolar Correlations in the Pyrochlore Tb${}_2$Ge${}_2$O${}_7$