Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The devil's staircase (DS) phenomenon is a fractal response of magnetization to external fields, traditionally observed in periodic ferromagnetic systems, where the commensurability between spin arrangements, lattice parameters, and external magnetic fields governs abrupt changes in magnetization. Its occurrence in aperiodic, fractal-type systems has remained largely unexplored, despite their natural compatibility with such phenomena. Using a quantum annealing device, we uncover a wealth of abrupt magnetic transitions between spin manifolds driven by increasing external magnetic fields within a simple yet effective Ising-model framework. In contrast to periodic systems, where DS arises from long-range competing interactions, our findings reveal that short-range, purely antiferromagnetic couplings in aperiodic geometries produce equally rich ground-state magnetization patterns. We demonstrate that while magnetic textures are determined by the lattice size, their formation remains remarkably robust and independent of scale, with commensurability emerging locally. Our results challenge the prevailing view that DS behavior is limited to periodic systems and establish quasiperiodic geometries as a natural host for this phenomenon.
DOI: 10.1103/c4pw-j4lk
Author: Alejandro Lopez-Bezanilla
Institution: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G4621020220, G956913535
OpenAlex ID: W4411202781