Skip to main content
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Latest Articles
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • Archive
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • Highlights from Latest Articles
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Purpose and Scope
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • For Reviewers
    • Author FAQ
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Home
Home

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Latest Articles
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • Archive
  • Front Matter
  • News
    • For the Press
    • Highlights from Latest Articles
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Purpose and Scope
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • For Reviewers
    • Author FAQ

New Research In

Physical Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Applied Physical Sciences
  • Astronomy
  • Computer Sciences
  • Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
  • Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics

Social Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Economic Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Political Sciences
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Social Sciences

Biological Sciences

Featured Portals

  • Sustainability Science

Articles by Topic

  • Agricultural Sciences
  • Anthropology
  • Applied Biological Sciences
  • Biochemistry
  • Biophysics and Computational Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Evolution
  • Genetics
  • Immunology and Inflammation
  • Medical Sciences
  • Microbiology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physiology
  • Plant Biology
  • Population Biology
  • Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
  • Sustainability Science
  • Systems Biology

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 published ahead of print August 31, 2015 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503126112
Junjie Yang
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Anjana Samarakoon
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sachith Dissanayake
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hiroaki Ueda
bDivision of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Israel Klich
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Kazuki Iida
cResearch Center for Neutron Science and Technology, Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Daniel Pajerowski
dNIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Nicholas P. Butch
dNIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Q. Huang
dNIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
John R. D. Copley
dNIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Seung-Hun Lee
aDepartment of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • 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)

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

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.

Next
Back to top
Article Alerts
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on PNAS.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Spin jam induced by quantum fluctuations in a frustrated magnet
(Your Name) has sent you a message from PNAS
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the PNAS web site.
Citation Tools
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

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
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
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 116 (7)
Current Issue

Submit

Sign up for Article Alerts

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

You May Also be Interested in

Several aspects of the proposal, which aims to expand open access, require serious discussion and, in some cases, a rethink.
Opinion: “Plan S” falls short for society publishers—and for the researchers they serve
Several aspects of the proposal, which aims to expand open access, require serious discussion and, in some cases, a rethink.
Image credit: Dave Cutler (artist).
Several large or long-lived animals seem strangely resistant to developing cancer. Elucidating the reasons why could lead to promising cancer-fighting strategies in humans.
Core Concept: Solving Peto’s Paradox to better understand cancer
Several large or long-lived animals seem strangely resistant to developing cancer. Elucidating the reasons why could lead to promising cancer-fighting strategies in humans.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com/ronnybas frimages.
Featured Profile
PNAS Profile of NAS member and biochemist Hao Wu
 Nonmonogamous strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio).  Image courtesy of Yusan Yang (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh).
Putative signature of monogamy
A study suggests a putative gene-expression hallmark common to monogamous male vertebrates of some species, namely cichlid fishes, dendrobatid frogs, passeroid songbirds, common voles, and deer mice, and identifies 24 candidate genes potentially associated with monogamy.
Image courtesy of Yusan Yang (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh).
Active lifestyles. Image courtesy of Pixabay/MabelAmber.
Meaningful life tied to healthy aging
Physical and social well-being in old age are linked to self-assessments of life worth, and a spectrum of behavioral, economic, health, and social variables may influence whether aging individuals believe they are leading meaningful lives.
Image courtesy of Pixabay/MabelAmber.

More Articles of This Classification

Physical Sciences

  • Deep elastic strain engineering of bandgap through machine learning
  • Single-molecule excitation–emission spectroscopy
  • Microscopic description of acid–base equilibrium
Show more

Physics

  • Unraveling materials Berry curvature and Chern numbers from real-time evolution of Bloch states
  • Opinion: “Plan S” falls short for society publishers—and for the researchers they serve
  • Limits of multifunctionality in tunable networks
Show more

Related Content

  • No related articles found.
  • Scopus
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited by...

  • Aging, memory, and nonhierarchical energy landscape of spin jam
  • Scopus (4)
  • Google Scholar

Similar Articles

Site Logo
Powered by HighWire
  • Submit Manuscript
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feeds
  • Email Alerts

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Latest Articles
  • Archive

PNAS Portals

  • Classics
  • Front Matter
  • Teaching Resources
  • Anthropology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Sustainability Science

Information

  • Authors
  • Editorial Board
  • Reviewers
  • Press
  • Site Map

Feedback    Privacy/Legal

Copyright © 2019 National Academy of Sciences. Online ISSN 1091-6490