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arXiv · 2108.11506

High energy spin excitations in the quantum spin liquid candidate Zn-barlowite probed by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

Rebecca W. Smaha·Jonathan Pelliciari·Ignace Jarrige·Valentina Bisogni·Aaron T. Breidenbach·Jack Mingde Jiang·Jiajia Wen·Hong-Chen Jiang·Young S. Lee
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Abstract

A quantum spin liquid is a novel ground state that can support long-range entanglement between magnetic moments, resulting in exotic spin excitations involving fractionalized $S=\frac{1}{2}$ spinons. Here, we measure the excitations in single crystals of the spin liquid candidate Zn-barlowite using resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. By analyzing the incident polarization and temperature dependences, we deduce a clear magnetic scattering contribution forming a broad continuum that surprisingly extends up to $\sim$200 meV ($\sim$14$J$, where $J$ is the magnetic exchange). The excitation spectrum reveals that significant contributions arise from multiple pairs of spinons and/or antispinons at high energies.

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Rebecca W. Smaha, Jonathan Pelliciari, Ignace Jarrige, Valentina Bisogni, Aaron T. Breidenbach, Jack Mingde Jiang, Jiajia Wen, Hong-Chen Jiang, Young S. Lee. 2021-08-25. High energy spin excitations in the quantum spin liquid candidate Zn-barlowite probed by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.107.l060402

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