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C. M. Pasco

Publications and source records attributed to C. M. Pasco.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Dipolar spin ice regime proximate to an all-in-all-out Néel ground state in the dipolar-octupolar pyrochlore Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$

The dipolar-octupolar (DO) pyrochlores, R$_2$M$_2$O$_7$ (R = Ce, Sm, Nd), are key players in the search for realizable novel quantum spin liquid (QSL) states as a large parameter space within the DO pyrochlore phase diagram is theorized to host QSL states of both dipolar and octupolar nature. New single crystals and powders of Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$, synthesized by hydrothermal techniques, present an opportunity for a new characterization of the exchange parameters in Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ using the near-neighbor $XYZ$ model Hamiltonian associated with DO pyrochlores. Utilizing quantum numerical linked cluster expansion fits to heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility measurements, and classical Monte Carlo calculations to the diffuse neutron diffraction of the new hydrothermally grown Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ samples, we place Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$'s ground state within the ordered dipolar all-in-all-out (AIAO) Néel phase, with quantum Monte Carlo calculations showing a transition to long-range order at temperatures below those accessed experimentally. Indeed, our new neutron diffraction measurements on the hydrothermally grown Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ powders show a broad signal at low scattering wave vectors, reminiscent of a \textit{dipolar} spin ice, in striking contrast from previous powder neutron diffraction on samples grown from solid-state synthesis, which found diffuse scattering at high scattering wave vectors associated with magnetic {\it octupoles} and suggested an octupolar quantum spin ice state. We conclude that new hydrothermally grown Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ samples host a finite-temperature proximate dipolar spin ice phase, above the expected transition to AIAO Néel order.

cond-mat.str-el

Anomalous Residual Surface Conductivity in a Superconductor with Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling

Conventional BCS superconductors are expected to exhibit a conductivity with vanishing dissipation with decreasing temperature. While bulk physical properties measurements indicate PdPb$_{2}$ is a conventional superconductor with a $T_c$ of 3.0 K, measurements of surface impedance through the microwave cavity perturbation technique indicate a large, non-vanishing dissipative component below $T_c$ that is at odds with conventional superconductivity. We demonstrate PdPb$_2$ to be a possible topological superconductor with a fully gapped bulk and a dissipative Majorana fluid surface.

cond-mat.supr-con

Electron doping of proposed quantum spin liquid kagomé Zn-Cu hydroxyl-halides produces localized states in the band gap

Carrier doping of quantum spin liquids is a long-proposed route to the emergence of high-temperature superconductivity. Electrochemical intercalation in kagome hydroxyl-halide materials shows that samples remain insulating across a wide range of electron counts. Here we demonstrate through first-principles density functional calculations corrected for self-interaction the mechanism by which electrons remain localized in various Zn-Cu hydroxyl-halides, independently of the chemical identity of the dopant - the formation of polaronic states with attendant lattice displacements and a dramatic narrowing of bandwidth upon electron addition. The same theoretical method applied to electron doping in cuprate Nd2CuO4 correctly produces a metallic state when the initially formed polaron dissolves into an extended state. Our general findings explain the insulating behavior in a wide range of doped quantum magnets and demonstrate that new quantum spin liquid host materials are needed to realize metallicity borne of a spin liquid.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Single crystal growth of Cu4(OH)6BrF and universal behavior in quantum spin liquid candidates synthetic barlowite and herbertsmithite

Synthetic barlowite, Cu4(OH)6BrF, has emerged as a new quantum spin liquid (QSL) host, containing kagome layers of S=1/2 Cu2+ ions separated by interlayer Cu2+ ions. Similar to synthetic herbertsmithite, ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2, it has been reported that Zn2+ substitution for the interlayer Cu2+ induces a QSL ground state. Here we report a scalable synthesis of single crystals of Cu4(OH)6BrF. Through x-ray, neutron, and electron diffraction measurements coupled with magic angle spinning 19F and 1H NMR spectroscopy, we resolve the previously reported positional disorder of the interlayer Cu2+ ions and find that the structure is best described in the orthorhombic space group, Cmcm, with lattice parameters a = 6.665(13) A, b = 11.521(2) A, c = 9.256(18) A and an ordered arrangement of interlayer Cu2+ ions. Infrared spectroscopy measurements of the O-H and F-H stretching frequencies demonstrate that the orthorhombic symmetry persists upon substitution of Zn2+ for Cu2+. Specific heat and magnetic susceptibility measurements of Zn-substituted barlowite, ZnxCu4-x(OH)6BrF, reveal striking similarities with the behavior of ZnxCu4-x(OH)6Cl2. These parallels imply universal behavior of copper kagome lattices even in the presence of small symmetry breaking distortions. Thus synthetic barlowite demonstrates universality of the physics of synthetic Cu2+ kagome minerals and furthers the development of real QSL states.

cond-mat.str-el