Field-Induced Phase Transition of the Spin Liquid State in Triangular Antiferromagnet YbMgGaO4
Abstract
The triangular antiferromagnet YbMgGaO4 has emerged as a candidate for
hosting quantum spin liquid state, an exotic state of matter featuring a high
degree of entanglement and often characterized as without magnetic ordering in
the zero-temperature limit. However, the nature of the ground state in this
system has been the subject of ardent debates, as recent work has shown that
chemical disorder may contribute to quantum spin liquid-like features. Here we
report a field-induced phase transition observed via diffuse neutron scattering
and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Comparisons to Monte Carlo
simulations, using semi-classical spins and disorder, and Density Matrix
Renormalization Group for the zero-temperature limit, reveal crucial
information about the ground state and the roles that thermal fluctuations and
chemical disorder play in the observed behavior.
Type
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19764Collections
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Sara Haravifard
William M. Fairbank Assistant Professor of Physics
Experimental Condensed Matter / Quantum Materials

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