Survival of itinerant excitations and quantum spin state transitions in YbMgGaO${}_4$ with chemical disorder

Abstract

A recent focus of quantum spin liquid (QSL) studies is how disorder/randomness in a QSL candidate affects its true magnetic ground state. The ultimate question is whether the QSL survives disorder or the disorder leads to a "spin-liquid-like" state, such as the proposed random-singlet (RS) state. Since disorder is a standard feature of most QSL candidates, this question represents a major challenge for QSL candidates. YbMgGaO${}_4$, a triangular lattice antiferromagnet with effective spin-1/2 Yb${}^{3+}$ ions, is an ideal system to address this question, since it shows no long-range magnetic ordering with Mg/Ga site disorder. Despite the intensive study, it remains unresolved as to whether YbMgGaO${}_4$ is a QSL or in the RS state. Here, through ultralow-temperature thermal conductivity and magnetic torque measurements, plus specific heat and DC magnetization data, we observed a residual ${\kappa }_0/T$ term and series of quantum spin state transitions in the zero temperature limit for YbMgGaO${}_4$. These observations strongly suggest that a QSL state with itinerant excitations and quantum spin fluctuations survives disorder in YbMgGaO${}_4$.

arXiv comment31 pages, 10 figures

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• Crystal-Field--Driven Magnetoelectricity in the Triangular Quantum Magnet CeMgAl${}_{11}$O${}_{19}$
• Anisotropic magnetism and spin fluctuations in the triangular-lattice spin-liquid candidate NaYbSe${}_2$: a single-crystal ${}^{23}$Na and ${}^{77}$Se NMR study
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• Scaling and data collapse of two-dimensional random singlet state in magnetic field
• Magnetically disordered ground state in the triangular-lattice antiferromagnets Rb${}_3$Yb(VO${}_4$)${}_2$ and Cs${}_3$Yb(VO${}_4$)${}_2$
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