Abstract
Elementary excitations in the spin-ice compound can be described as magnetic monopoles propagating independently within the pyrochlore lattice formed by magnetic Dy ions. We studied the magnetic-field dependence of the thermal conductivity for and observe clear evidence for magnetic heat transport originating from the monopole excitations. The magnetic contribution is strongly field dependent and correlates with the magnetization . The diffusion coefficient obtained from the ratio of and the magnetic specific heat is strongly enhanced below 1 K, indicating a high mobility of the monopole excitations in the spin-ice state.
- Received 25 May 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.060402
©2012 American Physical Society