Physical realization of a quantum spin liquid based on a novel frustration mechanism

Abstract

Unlike conventional magnets where the magnetic moments are partially or completely static in the ground state, in a quantum spin liquid they remain in collective motion down to the lowest temperatures. The importance of this state is that it is coherent and highly entangled without breaking local symmetries. Such phenomena is usually sought in simple lattices where antiferromagnetic interactions and/or anisotropies that favor specific alignments of the magnetic moments are "frustrated" by lattice geometries incompatible with such order e.g. triangular structures. Despite an extensive search among such compounds, experimental realizations remain very few. Here we describe the investigation of a novel, unexplored magnetic system consisting of strong ferromagnetic and weaker antiferromagnetic isotropic interactions as realized by the compound Ca${}_{10}$Cr${}_7$O${}_{28}$. Despite its exotic structure we show both experimentally and theoretically that it displays all the features expected of a quantum spin liquid including coherent spin dynamics in the ground state and the complete absence of static magnetism.

Modified version accepted in Nature Physics

References in corpus (5)

• Dirac Strings and Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice Dy2Ti2O7
• Quantum magnetism in the paratacamite family: towards an ideal kagome lattice
• Spiral order in the honeycomb iridate Li2IrO3
• Critical scales in anisotropic spin systems from functional renormalization
• Quantum spin chain as a potential realization of the Nersesyan-Tsvelik model

Cited by in corpus (15)

• Experimental identification of quantum spin liquids
• Topological Thermal Hall Effect in Frustrated Kagomé Antiferromagnets
• Entropy evolution in the magnetic phases of partially frustrated CePdAl
• Intertwined nematic orders in a frustrated ferromagnet
• Functional-renormalization-group analysis of Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya and Heisenberg spin interactions on the kagome lattice
• Quantum paramagnetism and helimagnetic orders in the Heisenberg model on the body centered cubic lattice
• Putative spin liquid in the triangle-based iridate Ba${}_3$IrTi${}_2$O${}_9$
• Magnon Hall Effect without Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction
• Disorder-induced spin-liquid-like behavior in kagome-lattice compounds
• Quantum percolation phase transition and magneto-electric dipole glass in hexagonal ferrites
• Projective symmetry group classifications of quantum spin liquids on the simple cubic, body centered cubic, and face centered cubic lattices
• Crystal Growth of Spin-Frustrated Ba4Nb0.8Ir3.2O12: A Possible Spin Liquid Material
• Frustrated antiferromagnetic honeycomb-tunnel-like lattice CuRE2Ge2O8 (RE=Pr, Nd, Sm, and Eu)
• Some experimental schemes to identify quantum spin liquids
• Spin-orbit-coupling-induced magnetic heterostructure in the bilayer Bose-Hubbard system