Dynamic behavior of magnetic avalanches in the spin-ice compound Dy${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$

Abstract

Avalanches of the magnetization, that is to say an abrupt reversal of the magnetization at a given field, have been previously reported in the spin-ice compound Dy${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$. This out-of-equilibrium process, induced by magneto-thermal heating, is quite usual in low temperature magnetization studies. A key point is to determine the physical origin of the avalanche process. In particular, in spin-ice compounds, the origin of the avalanches might be related to the monopole physics inherent to the system. We have performed a detailed study of the avalanche phenomena in three single crystals, with the field oriented along the [111] direction, perpendicular to [111] and along the [100] directions. We have measured the changing magnetization during the avalanches and conclude that avalanches in spin ice are quite slow compared to the avalanches reported in other systems such as molecular magnets. Our measurements show that the avalanches trigger after a delay of about 500 ms and that the reversal of the magnetization then occurs in a few hundreds of milliseconds. These features suggest an unusual propagation of the reversal, which might be due to the monopole motion. The avalanche fields seem to be reproducible in a given direction for different samples, but they strongly depend on the initial state of magnetization and on how the initial state was achieved.

11 pages, 14 figures

References in corpus (9)

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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Fragmented monopole crystal, dimer entropy and Coulomb interactions in Dy${}_2$Ir${}_2$O${}_7$
• Nuclear spin assisted quantum tunnelling of magnetic monopoles in spin ice
• Structural magnetic glassiness in spin ice Dy${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$
• Dichotomous Dynamics of Magnetic Monopole Fluids
• Crossover from string to cluster dynamics following a field quench in spin ice
• Dynamic scaling near the Kasteleyn transition in spin ice: critical relaxation of monopoles and strings following a field quench