Monopole density and antiferromagnetic domain control in spin-ice iridates

Abstract

Frustration in magnetic systems is fertile ground for complex behaviour, including unconventional ground states with emergent symmetries, topological properties, and exotic excitations. A canonical example is the emergence of magnetic-charge-carrying quasiparticles in spin-ice compounds. Despite extensive work, a reliable experimental indicator of the density of these magnetic monopoles in spin-ice systems is yet to be found. Here, using measurements on single crystals of Ho${}_2$Ir${}_2$O${}_7$ in combination with dipolar Monte Carlo simulations, we show that the magnetoresistance is highly sensitive to the density of monopoles. Moreover, we find that for the orientations of magnetic field in which the monopole density is enhanced, a strong coupling emerges between the magnetic charges on the holmium sublattice and the antiferromagnetically ordered iridium ions, leading to an ability to manipulate the antiferromagnetic domains via a uniform external field. Our results pave the way to a quantitative experimental measure of monopole density and provide a powerful illustration of the interplay between the various magnetic and electronic degrees of freedom in the frustrated pyrochlore iridates. This interdependence holds promise for potential functional properties arising from the link between magnetic and electric charges, as well as for the control of antiferromagnetic domain walls, a key goal in the design of next-generation spintronic devices.

29 pages, 11 figures

References in corpus (10)

• Dirac Strings and Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice Dy2Ti2O7
• Low Temperature Spin Freezing in Dy2Ti2O7 Spin Ice
• Observation of Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice
• Theory of the [111] magnetization plateau in spin ice
• Magnetic orders and topological phases from f-d exchange in pyrochlore iridates
• Fragmented monopole crystal, dimer entropy and Coulomb interactions in Dy${}_2$Ir${}_2$O${}_7$
• Electronic transport in the Coulomb phase of the pyrochlore spin ice
• Anomalous Magnetoresistance by Breaking Ice Rule in Bi2Ir2O7/Dy2Ti2O7 Heterostructure
• Electric activity at magnetic moment fragmentation in spin ice
• Real-space imaging and flux noise spectroscopy of magnetic dynamics in Ho${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Anomalous Magnetoresistance by Breaking Ice Rule in Bi2Ir2O7/Dy2Ti2O7 Heterostructure
• Fragmented spin ice and multi-$k$ ordering in rare-earth antiperovskites
• Magnetotransport of single crystal Sm${}_2$Ir${}_2$O${}_7$ across the pressure-induced quantum-critical phase boundary
• Dynamical Axions in $U(1)$ Quantum Spin Liquids
• 2-Form U(1) Spin Liquids: Classical Model and Quantum Aspects
• Perfectly hidden order and Z2 confinement transition in a fully packed monopole liquid
• Neutron scattering from fragmented frustrated magnets
• Vison crystal in quantum spin ice on the breathing pyrochlore lattice
• Theta electromagnetism in quantum spin ice: Microscopic analysis of improper symmetries
• Ferromagnetic fragmented state in the pyrochlore Ho${}_2$Ru${}_2$O${}_7$