Mapping the first order magnetic transition in Yb${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$

Abstract

The very nature of the ground state of the pyrochlore compound Yb${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$ is much debated, as experimental results demonstrate evidence for both a disordered or a long-range ordered ground state. Indeed, the delicate balance of exchange interactions and anisotropy is believed to lead to competing states, such as a Quantum Spin Liquid state or a ferromagnetic state which may originate from an Anderson-Higgs transition. We present a detailed magnetization study demonstrating a first order ferromagnetic transition at 245 mK and 150 mK in a powder and a single crystal sample respectively. Its first-order character is preserved up to applied fields of $\sim$ 200 Oe. The transition stabilizes a ferromagnetic component and involves slow dynamics in the magnetization. Residual fluctuations are also evidenced, the presence of which might explain some of the discrepancies between previously published data for Yb${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$.

5 pages + Sup. Mat

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Low Energy Electrodynamics of Novel Spin Excitations in the Quantum Spin Ice Yb${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$