Nearest-neighbour resonating valence bonds in YbMgGaO.

Since its proposal by Anderson, resonating valence bonds (RVB) formed by a superposition of fluctuating singlet pairs have been a paradigmatic concept in understanding quantum spin liquids. Here, we show that excitations related to singlet breaking on nearest-neighbour bonds describe the high-energy part of the excitation spectrum in YbMgGaO, the effective spin-1/2 frustrated antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice, as originally considered by Anderson. By a thorough single-crystal inelastic neutron scattering study, we demonstrate that nearest-neighbour RVB excitations account for the bulk of the spectral weight above 0.5 meV. This renders YbMgGaO the first experimental system where putative RVB correlations restricted to nearest neighbours are observed, and poses a fundamental question of how complex interactions on the triangular lattice conspire to form this unique many-body state.