Publication Date:
2018-09-27
Description:
Author(s): Liang Wu, A. Little, E. E. Aldape, D. Rees, E. Thewalt, P. Lampen-Kelley, A. Banerjee, C. A. Bridges, J.-Q. Yan, D. Boone, S. Patankar, D. Goldhaber-Gordon, D. Mandrus, S. E. Nagler, E. Altman, and J. Orenstein The quantum spin liquid (QSL) – a phase of matter with no ordered ground state – is of fundamental interest as excitations in this phase may break the molds of bosons and fermions and develop more complicated properties. The honeycomb magnet α -RuCl 3 has emerged as a candidate for realization of a QSL. Although it orders at low temperature, an in-plane magnetic field of around 7 Tesla destroys the order; the nature of this transition is intensely studied. Here, the authors use polarized time-domain terahertz spectroscopy to study the spectrum of magnetic excitations in α -RuCl 3 in an applied field. Motivated by the unusual evolution of the spectra, the authors develop a linear spin wave theory to describe the data with strikingly good agreement. These results provide clarity for ongoing work on this compound, and inform future studies aiming to detect field-induced QSL states. [Phys. Rev. B 98, 094425] Published Wed Sep 26, 2018
Keywords:
Magnetism
Print ISSN:
1098-0121
Electronic ISSN:
1095-3795
Topics:
Physics
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