Work

Spin Ice, Fractionalization, and Topological Order

Year: 2011

Type: review

Abstract: The spin ice compounds Dy 2 Ti 2 O 7 and Ho 2 Ti 2 O 7 are highly unusual magnets that epitomize a set of concepts of great interest in modern condensed matter physics: Their low-energy physics exhibits an emergent gauge field and their excitations are magnetic monopoles that arise from the fractionalization of the microscopic magnetic spin degrees of freedom. In this review, we provide an elementary introduction to these concepts and we survey the thermodynamics, statics, and dynamics—in and out of equilibrium—of spin ice from these vantage points. Along the way, we touch on topics such as emergent Coulomb plasmas, observable Dirac strings, and irrational charges. We close with the outlook for these unique materials.

Source: Annual Review of Condensed Matter Physics

DOI: 10.1146/annurev-conmatphys-020911-125058

Authors: C. Castelnovo, R. Moessner, S.L. Sondhi

Institutions: Royal Holloway University of London, South East Physics Network, Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Princeton University

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Condensed Matter Physics

Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Science Foundation, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Division of Materials Research

Awards: Condensed Matter Systems with Emergent Gauge Fields, Phase-ordering kinetics and defect dynamics beyond the Landau-Ginzburg description, G871844395