Xu J, Benton Owen, Islam A T M N, Guidi T, Ehlers G, Lake B
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany.
Institut für Festkörperphysik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 36, D-10623 Berlin, Germany.
Phys Rev Lett. 2020 Mar 6;124(9):097203. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.097203.
The pyrochlore material Nd_{2}Zr_{2}O_{7} with an "all-in-all-out" (AIAO) magnetic order shows novel quantum moment fragmentation with gapped flat dynamical spin ice modes. The parametrized spin Hamiltonian with a dominant frustrated ferromagnetic transverse term reveals a proximity to a U(1) spin liquid. Here we study the magnetic excitations of Nd_{2}Zr_{2}O_{7} above the ordering temperature (T_{N}) using high-energy-resolution inelastic neutron scattering. We find strong spin ice correlations at zero energy with the disappearance of gapped magnon excitations of the AIAO order. It seems that the gap to the dynamical spin ice closes above T_{N} and the system enters a quantum spin ice state competing with and suppressing the AIAO order. Classical Monte Carlo simulations, molecular dynamics, and quantum boson calculations support the existence of a Coulombic phase above T_{N}. Our findings relate the magnetic ordering of Nd_{2}Zr_{2}O_{7} with the Higgs mechanism and provide explanations for several previously reported experimental features.
具有“全进全出”(AIAO)磁序的烧绿石材料Nd₂Zr₂O₇表现出具有能隙平坦动态自旋冰模式的新型量子矩碎片化。具有主导受挫铁磁横向项的参数化自旋哈密顿量揭示了其与U(1)自旋液体的接近性。在此,我们使用高能量分辨率非弹性中子散射研究了Nd₂Zr₂O₇在有序温度(TN)以上的磁激发。我们发现在零能量处有很强的自旋冰相关性,且AIAO序的能隙磁振子激发消失。似乎动态自旋冰的能隙在TN以上闭合,系统进入与AIAO序竞争并抑制它的量子自旋冰状态。经典蒙特卡罗模拟、分子动力学和量子玻色子计算支持在TN以上存在库仑相。我们的发现将Nd₂Zr₂O₇的磁有序与希格斯机制联系起来,并为先前报道的几个实验特征提供了解释。