Physicists find first possible 3-D quantum spin liquid

Phys.org  July 15, 2019
A quantum spin liquid is a state of matter where unpaired electrons’ spins, although entangled, do not show magnetic order even at the zero temperature. An international team of researchers (USA – Rice University, UC San Diego, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Rutgers University, industry, UK, Switzerland, South Korea, University of Hong Kong) used thermodynamic, muon spin relaxation and neutron scattering experiments on single crystals of Ce2Zr2O7 to demonstrate the absence of magnetic ordering and the presence of a spin excitation continuum at 35 mK. With no evidence of oxygen deficiency and magnetic/non-magnetic ion disorder seen by neutron diffraction and diffuse scattering measurements, Ce2Zr2O7 may be a three-dimensional pyrochlore lattice quantum spin liquid material with minimum magnetic and non-magnetic chemical disorder…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE

A 3-D representation of the spin-excitation continuum observed in a single crystal sample of cerium zirconium pyrochlore. Credit: Tong Chen/Rice University

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