201. Gapless quantum spin liquid ground state in the two-dimensional spin-1/2 triangular antiferromagnet YbMgGaO4.
- Author
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Li, Yuesheng, Liao, Haijun, Zhang, Zhen, Li, Shiyan, Jin, Feng, Ling, Langsheng, Zhang, Lei, Zou, Youming, Pi, Li, Yang, Zhaorong, Wang, Junfeng, Wu, Zhonghua, and Zhang, Qingming
- Subjects
GROUND state (Quantum mechanics) ,ANTIFERROMAGNETISM ,CONDENSED matter physics ,ISOTROPY subgroups ,HEAT capacity - Abstract
Quantum spin liquid (QSL) is a novel state of matter which refuses the conventional spin freezing even at 0 K. Experimentally searching for the structurally perfect candidates is a big challenge in condensed matter physics. Here we report the successful synthesis of a new spin-1/2 triangular antiferromagnet YbMgGaO
4 with symmetry. The compound with an ideal two-dimensional and spatial isotropic magnetic triangular-lattice has no site-mixing magnetic defects and no antisymmetric Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya (DM) interactions. No spin freezing down to 60 mK (despite θw ~ −4 K), the power-law temperature dependence of heat capacity and nonzero susceptibility at low temperatures suggest that YbMgGaO4 is a promising gapless (≤|θw |/100) QSL candidate. The residual spin entropy, which is accurately determined with a non-magnetic reference LuMgGaO4 , approaches zero (<0.6%). This indicates that the possible QSL ground state (GS) of the frustrated spin system has been experimentally achieved at the lowest measurement temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2015
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