Muon Spin Relaxation Evidence for the U(1) Quantum Spin-Liquid Ground State in the Triangular Antiferromagnet YbMgGaO4

Yuesheng Li, Devashibhai Adroja, Pabitra K. Biswas, Peter J. Baker, Qian Zhang, Juanjuan Liu, Alexander A. Tsirlin, Philipp Gegenwart, and Qingming Zhang
Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 097201 – Published 23 August 2016
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Abstract

Muon spin relaxation (μSR) experiments on single crystals of the structurally perfect triangular antiferromagnet YbMgGaO4 indicate the absence of both static long-range magnetic order and spin freezing down to 0.048 K in a zero field. Below 0.4 K, the μ+ spin relaxation rates, which are proportional to the dynamic correlation function of the Yb3+ spins, exhibit temperature-independent plateaus. All these μSR results unequivocally support the formation of a gapless U(1) quantum spin liquid ground state in the triangular antiferromagnet YbMgGaO4.

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  • Received 5 July 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.097201

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Yuesheng Li1,2,*, Devashibhai Adroja3,4, Pabitra K. Biswas3, Peter J. Baker3, Qian Zhang1, Juanjuan Liu1, Alexander A. Tsirlin2, Philipp Gegenwart2, and Qingming Zhang1,5,†

  • 1Department of Physics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, People’s Republic of China
  • 2Experimental Physics VI, Center for Electronic Correlations and Magnetism, University of Augsburg, 86159 Augsburg, Germany
  • 3ISIS Pulsed Neutron and Muon Source, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
  • 4Highly Correlated Matter Research Group, Physics Department, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa
  • 5Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, People’s Republic of China

  • *yuesheng.man.li@gmail.com
  • qmzhang@ruc.edu.cn

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Issue

Vol. 117, Iss. 9 — 26 August 2016

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