Continuous excitations of the triangular-lattice quantum spin liquid YbMgGaO4

Abstract

A quantum spin liquid (QSL) is an exotic state of matter in which electrons' spins are quantum entangled over long distances, but do not show symmetry-breaking magnetic order in the zero-temperature limit. The observation of QSL states is a central aim of experimental physics, because they host collective excitations that transcend our knowledge of quantum matter; however, examples in real materials are scarce. Here, we report neutron-scattering measurements on YbMgGaO4, a QSL candidate in which Yb3+ ions with effective spin-1/2 occupy a triangular lattice. Our measurements reveal a continuum of magnetic excitations - the essential experimental hallmark of a QSL - at very low temperature (0.06 K). The origin of this peculiar excitation spectrum is a crucial question, because isotropic nearest-neighbor interactions do not yield a QSL ground state on the triangular lattice. Using measurements of the magnetic excitations close to the field-polarized state, we identify antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor interactions in the presence of planar anisotropy as key ingredients for QSL formation in YbMgGaO4.

21 pages, 8 figures, includes Supplementary Information

References in corpus (5)

• Mantid - Data Analysis and Visualization Package for Neutron Scattering and $\mu SR$ Experiments
• Spin liquid phase of the $S=\frac{1}{2}$ $J_1-J_2$ Heisenberg model on the triangular lattice
• $\mu$SR evidence for the U(1) quantum spin liquid ground state in the triangular antiferromagnet YbMgGaO${}_4$
• Possible valence-bond condensation in the frustrated cluster magnet LiZn2Mo3O8
• Quasiclassical magnetic order and its loss in a spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice with competing bonds

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