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arXiv · 1612.03881

Anomalous thermal conductivity and magnetic torque response in the honeycomb magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$

Ian A. Leahy·Christopher A. Pocs·Peter E. Siegfried·David Graf·S. -H. Do·Kwang-Yong Choi·B. Normand·Minhyea Lee
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Abstract

We report on the unusual behavior of the in-plane thermal conductivity ($κ$) and torque ($τ$) response in the Kitaev-Heisenberg material $α$-RuCl$_3$. $κ$ shows a striking enhancement with linear growth beyond H = 7 T, where magnetic order disappears, while $τ$ for both of the in-plane symmetry directions shows an anomaly at the same field. The temperature- and field-dependence of $κ$ are far more complex than conventional phonon and magnon contributions, and require us to invoke the presence of unconventional spin excitations whose properties are characteristic of a field-induced spin-liquid phase related to the enigmatic physics of the Kitaev model in an applied magnetic field

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Ian A. Leahy, Christopher A. Pocs, Peter E. Siegfried, David Graf, S. -H. Do, Kwang-Yong Choi, B. Normand, Minhyea Lee. 2017-03-09. Anomalous thermal conductivity and magnetic torque response in the honeycomb magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.118.187203

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