Work

Gapped quantum spin liquid in a triangular-lattice Ising-type antiferromagnet PrMgAl 11 O 19

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: In the search of quantum spin liquid (QSL), spin-1/2 triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnets have always been viewed as fertile soils. Despite the true magnetically ordered ground state, anisotropy has been considered to play a significant role in stabilizing a QSL state. However, the nature and ground state of the most anisotropic case, the triangular-lattice Ising antiferromagnet (TLIAF), remain elusive and controversial. Here, we report specific-heat and thermal-conductivity measurements on a newly discovered Ising-type QSL candidate PrMgAl 11 O 19 . At zero field, the magnetic specific heat shows a quadratic temperature dependence. On the contrary, no direct positive magnetic contribution to thermal conductivity is detected, ruling out the presence of mobile gapless fermionic excitations. Further analysis of phonon thermal conductivity reveals that the phonons are strongly scattered by thermally activated magnetic excitations out of a gap, which exhibits a linear dependence with magnetic field. These results demonstrate that the spin-1/2 TLIAF PrMgAl 11 O 19 has a gapped Z 2 QSL ground state. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Source: Physical Review Research

DOI: 10.1103/physrevresearch.6.043147

Authors: C. P. Tu, Z. Ma, H. R. Wang, Y. H. Jiao, D. Z. Dai, S. Y. Li

Institutions: Fudan University, Shanghai Research Center for Quantum Sciences, Hubei Normal University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Condensed Matter Physics

Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,625

Funders: Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, National Key Research and Development Program of China