arXiv · 2512.02176
Emergent Spin-Singlet Pairing in the Frustrated Kagome Metal Sc$_3$Mn$_3$Al$_7$Si$_5$
Abstract
The metallic kagome compound Sc$_3$Mn$_3$Al$_7$Si$_5$ has attracted attention as a candidate platform where geometric frustration and itinerant electrons may cooperate to stabilize a quantum-disordered magnetic ground state. Here, we combine bulk thermodynamic probes, low-noise FIB-device transport, and comprehensive $^{55}$Mn Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements to elucidate the low-temperature spin dynamics of this system. The bulk data reveal strongly reduced magnetic entropy, a negative magnetoresistance arising from spin scattering, and field-dependent transport indicates the spin fluctuations, while showing no signatures of long-range magnetic order. NMR provides a direct local view of the correlated Mn moments: the nuclear spin-spin relaxation $T_2$ exhibits a pronounced low-temperature enhancement driven by an indirect internuclear coupling through electronic spin fluctuations, whose temperature and distance dependence point to partially gapped low-energy spin excitations. The spin-lattice relaxation rate $T_1^{-1}$ displays a Hebel-Slichter-like coherence peak near \SI{10}{K}, coincident with the resistivity crossover and a subtle heat-capacity anomaly, indicating the formation of short-range spin-singlet correlations. Together, our results demonstrate that Sc$_3$Mn$_3$Al$_7$Si$_5$ hosts an unconventional correlated state dominated by frustrated, gapped spin dynamics, placing it among the rare metallic kagome systems proximate to a quantum spin liquid.
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R. Guehne, A. K. Sharma, P. Yanda, J. Noky, J. Sichelschmidt, R. Koban, W. Schnelle, C. Shekhar, M. Baenitz, C. Felser. 2025-12-01. Emergent Spin-Singlet Pairing in the Frustrated Kagome Metal Sc$_3$Mn$_3$Al$_7$Si$_5$. https://doi.org/10.1103/8tjx-yy4w
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