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Research Article

Spin jam induced by quantum fluctuations in a frustrated magnet

Junjie Yang, Anjana Samarakoon, Sachith Dissanayake, Hiroaki Ueda, Israel Klich, Kazuki Iida, Daniel Pajerowski, Nicholas P. Butch, Q. Huang, John R. D. Copley, and Seung-Hun Lee
PNAS first published August 31, 2015; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503126112
Junjie Yang
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
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Anjana Samarakoon
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
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Sachith Dissanayake
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
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Hiroaki Ueda
bDivision of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan;
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Israel Klich
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
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Kazuki Iida
cResearch Center for Neutron Science and Technology, Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan;
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Daniel Pajerowski
dNIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
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Nicholas P. Butch
dNIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
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Q. Huang
dNIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
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John R. D. Copley
dNIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
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Seung-Hun Lee
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
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  • For correspondence: shlee@virginia.edu
  1. Edited by Zachary Fisk, University of California, Irvine, CA, and approved August 7, 2015 (received for review February 13, 2015)

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Significance

We report experimental evidence for a glassy state induced by quantum fluctuations, a spin jam, that is realized in SrCr9pGa12-9pO19 [SCGO(p)], a highly frustrated magnet, in which the magnetic Cr3+ (s = 3/2) ions form a quasi-two-dimensional triangular system of bipyramids. Our new experimental data and our theoretical spin jam model provide, for the first time, to our knowledge, a coherent understanding of the existing experimental data of this fascinating system. Furthermore, our findings strongly support the possible existence of purely topological glassy states.

Abstract

Since the discovery of spin glasses in dilute magnetic systems, their study has been largely focused on understanding randomness and defects as the driving mechanism. The same paradigm has also been applied to explain glassy states found in dense frustrated systems. Recently, however, it has been theoretically suggested that different mechanisms, such as quantum fluctuations and topological features, may induce glassy states in defect-free spin systems, far from the conventional dilute limit. Here we report experimental evidence for existence of a glassy state, which we call a spin jam, in the vicinity of the clean limit of a frustrated magnet, which is insensitive to a low concentration of defects. We have studied the effect of impurities on SrCr9pGa12-9pO19 [SCGO(p)], a highly frustrated magnet, in which the magnetic Cr3+ (s = 3/2) ions form a quasi-2D triangular system of bipyramids. Our experimental data show that as the nonmagnetic Ga3+ impurity concentration is changed, there are two distinct phases of glassiness: an exotic glassy state, which we call a spin jam, for the high magnetic concentration region (p>0.8) and a cluster spin glass for lower magnetic concentration (p<0.8). This observation indicates that a spin jam is a unique vantage point from which the class of glassy states of dense frustrated magnets can be understood.

  • spin jam
  • frustration
  • glassy states

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: shlee{at}virginia.edu.
  • Author contributions: S.-H.L. designed research; J.Y., A.S., S.D., H.U., K.I., D.P., N.P.B., Q.H., J.R.D.C., and S.-H.L. performed research; J.Y., A.S., S.D., I.K., and S.-H.L. analyzed data; and J.Y., A.S., S.D., I.K., and S.-H.L. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1503126112/-/DCSupplemental.

Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.

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Spin jam state of a frustrated magnet
Junjie Yang, Anjana Samarakoon, Sachith Dissanayake, Hiroaki Ueda, Israel Klich, Kazuki Iida, Daniel Pajerowski, Nicholas P. Butch, Q. Huang, John R. D. Copley, Seung-Hun Lee
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2015, 201503126; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1503126112

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Spin jam state of a frustrated magnet
Junjie Yang, Anjana Samarakoon, Sachith Dissanayake, Hiroaki Ueda, Israel Klich, Kazuki Iida, Daniel Pajerowski, Nicholas P. Butch, Q. Huang, John R. D. Copley, Seung-Hun Lee
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 2015, 201503126; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1503126112
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