arXiv subjects

L. Mangin-Thro

Publications and source records attributed to L. Mangin-Thro.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum spin liquid on a 3D bipartite lattice of spin trimers stabilized by enhanced effective anisotropy

Quantum spin liquids (QSLs) represent highly entangled states of matter in which frustration-induced quantum fluctuations suppress any symmetry-breaking phase transition down to absolute zero, giving rise to fractionalized excitations and emergent gauge fields. Theoretically, bond anisotropy can stabilize QSLs even on bipartite lattices, as exemplified by the Kitaev honeycomb model; however, no material has so far been established to realize such a state as its true ground state. Here we identify the three-dimensional spin-trimer magnet KBa$_3$Ca$_4$Cu$_3$V$_7$O$_{28}$ as a promising candidate for a bipartite quantum spin liquid persisting to the lowest temperatures. Strongly coupled Cu$^{2+}$ trimers form effective pseudospin-1/2 degrees of freedom upon cooling, which in turn constitute a three-dimensional bipartite network. Bulk thermodynamic measurements, neutron scattering, $μ$SR, and NMR detect no spin freezing or symmetry-breaking phase transition down to 20 mK, but instead reveal a gapless dynamical ground state with algebraic spin autocorrelations. Complementary Monte Carlo and exact-diagonalization calculations show that this state is stabilized by a strong enhancement of effective anisotropy: a weak microscopic Cu-Cu exchange anisotropy of approximately 15 percent is generically amplified at the trimer level, producing effective pseudospin-pseudospin interaction anisotropies of 60 to 100 percent. Our results establish trimer-based networks as a promising platform for realizing anisotropy-stabilized quantum entangled states, even in three-dimensional bipartite systems with only weak microscopic anisotropy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Ferromagnetic fragmented state in the pyrochlore Ho$_2$Ru$_2$O$_7$

The consecutive magnetic ordering of the Ho and Ru ions in the pyrochlore Ho2Ru2O7 and their interplay are investigated by neutron scattering, magnetic and specific heat measurements. The Ru moments order at 95 K into a $Γ_5$ easy-plane antiferromagnetic state. At 1.55 K the Ho moments order into an unusual $Γ_9$ ferromagnetic state with extensive ground state entropy and structured spin dynamics. It is shown how the internal fields with $Γ_5$ and $Γ_9$ geometry allow for two symmetry breaking transitions. The lower temperature ordering is driven by ruthenium mediated interactions between holmium moments as spin ice correlations develop. The unsaturated order is compatible with a fragmented ferromagnetic state equivalent to pyrochlore kagome ice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Intrinsic disorder in the candidate quantum spin ice Pr$_2$Zr$_2$O$_7$

Quantum spin liquids with long-range entanglement are of great interest for applications in quantum technology. The quantum spin ice Pr$_2$Zr$_2$O$_7$ is a promising example, where it is believed that structural disorder plays a key role in enhancing quantum mechanical effects by introducing strains that split the ground state doublet akin to the effect of a local disordered transverse field. However, the precise defect structure responsible for this behaviour is unknown. Here we have determined the intrinsic defect structure of Pr$_2$Zr$_2$O$_7$ using neutron and x-ray scattering techniques supported by density functional theory. We find the main defect is the stuffing of Zr$^{4+}$ sites by Pr$^{3+}$ ions, accompanied by charge compensating O$^{2-}$ vacancies, and the relaxation of a neighbouring O$^{2-}$ ion to an interstitial site. Our results explain the single-ion magnetism by considering the non-magnetic singlets that arise on neighbouring sites as a result of the defect structure. These singlets account for additional features in the crystal electric field excitations. The effects caused by this low level of structural disorder are magnified since several neighbouring Pr sites are affected. This makes a significant contribution towards the observed broadening of pinch points in the magnetic diffuse scattering, which was previously attributed purely to quantum effects.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Evidence for spin liquid behavior in the frustrated three-dimensional $S = 1/2$ Heisenberg garnet NaCa$_{2}$Cu$_{2}$(VO$_{4}$)$_{3}$

Three-dimensional quantum spin liquids have remained elusive, hindered by reduced quantum fluctuations from larger lattice connectivity inherent to high-dimensional systems. Here, we investigate the remarkable persistence of dynamical short-range magnetic correlations in the nearly body-centered cubic garnet NaCa$_{2}$Cu$_{2}$(VO$_{4}$)$_{3}$ down to $T = 50$ mK, two orders of magnitude below its Curie-Weiss temperature. Using a combination of neutron and muon spectroscopies plus numerical simulations, we demonstrate that a dynamical regime emerges, characterized by a dual response in the inelastic spectrum composed of short-live dispersive excitations and a quasi-elastic component. Strongly frustrated exchange interactions combined with subtle temperature-dependent Jahn-Teller spin-lattice effects are a plausible mechanism to explain the origin of this spin-liquid behavior.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Signature of a randomness-driven spin-liquid state in a frustrated magnet

Collective behaviour of electrons, frustration induced quantum fluctuations and entanglement in quantum materials underlie some of the emergent quantum phenomena with exotic quasi-particle excitations that are highly relevant for technological applications. Herein, we present our thermodynamic and muon spin relaxation measurements, complemented by ab initio density functional theory and exact diagonalization results, on the recently synthesized frustrated antiferromagnet Li4CuTeO6, in which Cu2+ ions (S = 1/2) constitute disordered spin chains and ladders along the crystallographic [101] direction with weak random inter-chain couplings. Our thermodynamic experiments detect neither long-range magnetic ordering nor spin freezing down to 45 mK despite the presence of strong antiferromagnetic interaction between Cu2+ moments leading to a large effective Curie-Weiss temperature of -154 K. Muon spin relaxation results are consistent with thermodynamic results. The temperature and magnetic field scaling of magnetization and specific heat reveal a data collapse pointing towards the presence of random-singlets within a disorder-driven correlated and dynamic ground-state in this frustrated antiferromagnet.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Spin dynamics of the quantum dipolar magnet Yb$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ in an external field

We investigate ytterbium gallium garnet Yb$_{3}$Ga$_{5}$O$_{12}$ in the paramagnetic phase above the supposed magnetic transition at $T_λ \approx 54$ mK. Our study combines susceptibility and specific heat measurements with neutron scattering experiments and theoretical calculations. Below 500 mK, the elastic neutron response is strongly peaked in the momentum space. Along with that the inelastic spectrum develops flat excitation modes. In magnetic field, the lowest energy branch follows a Zeeman shift in accordance with the field-dependent specific heat data. An intermediate state with spin canting away from the field direction is evidenced in small magnetic fields. In the field of 2 T, the total magnetization almost saturates and the measured excitation spectrum is well reproduced by the spin-wave calculations taking into account solely the dipole-dipole interactions. The small positive Curie-Weiss temperature derived from the susceptibility measurements is also accounted for by the dipole spin model. Altogether, our results suggest that Yb$_{3}$Ga$_{5}$O$_{12}$ is a quantum dipolar magnet.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Role of defects in determining the magnetic ground state of ytterbium titanate

Pyrochlore systems are ideally suited to the exploration of geometrical frustration in three dimensions, and their rich phenomenology encompasses topological order and fractional excitations. Classical spin ices provide the first context in which it is possible to control emergent magnetic monopoles, and anisotropic exchange leads to even richer behaviour associated with large quantum fluctuations. Whether the magnetic ground state of Yb2Ti2O7 is a quantum spin liquid or a ferromagnetic phase induced by a Higgs transition appears to be sample dependent. Here we have determined the role of structural defects on the magnetic ground state via the diffuse scattering of neutrons. We find that oxygen vacancies stabilise the spin liquid phase and the stuffing of Ti sites by Yb suppresses it. Samples in which the oxygen vacancies have been eliminated by annealing in oxygen exhibit a transition to a ferromagnetic phase, and this is the true magnetic ground state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Gd pyrochlore under a staggered molecular field in Gd$_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$

The influence of a staggered molecular field in frustrated rare-earth pyrochlores, produced via the magnetic iridium occupying the transition metal site, can generate exotic ground states, such as the fragmentation of the magnetization in the Ho compound. At variance with the Ising Ho$^{3+}$ moment, we focus on the behavior of the quasi isotropic magnetic moment of the Gd$^{3+}$ ion at the rare-earth site. By means of macroscopic measurements and neutron scattering, we find a complex situation where different components of the magnetic moment contribute to two antiferromagnetic non-collinear arrangements: a high temperature all in - all out order induced by the Ir molecular field, and Palmer and Chalker correlations that tend to order at much lower temperatures. This is enabled by the anisotropic nature of the Gd-Gd interactions and requires a weak easy-plane anisotropy of the Gd$^{3+}$ moment due to the mixing of the ground state with multiplets of higher spectral terms.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Comment on "No Evidence for Orbital Loop Currents in Charge Ordered ${\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_{6+x}}$ from Polarized Neutron Diffraction"

Intra-unit cell magnetic order has been observed in four different families of high-temperature superconductors from polarized neutron diffraction experiments and supported by several other techniques. That order, which does not break translation symmetry, is consistent with the predicted orbital moments generated by two microscopic loop currrents in each CuO$_2$ cell. Recently, using polarized neutron diffraction, Croft {\it et al} [Phys. Rev. B 96, 214504 (2017)] claim to find no evidence for such orbital loop currents in charge ordered ${\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_{6+x}}$. Their experiment is done with detwinned samples at least 100 times smaller than in previous experiments without counting much longer. We show by a detailed quantitative analysis of their data that contrary to their conclusion, the magnetic signal falls below their threshold of detection. None of the data reported by Croft {\it et al} challenge the universality of the intra-unit cell order in cuprates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Hourglass dispersion and resonance of magnetic excitations in the superconducting state of the single-layer cuprate HgBa2CuO4+δ near optimal doping

We use neutron scattering to study magnetic excitations near the antiferromagnetic wave vector in the underdoped single-layer cuprate HgBa2CuO4+δ (superconducting transition temperature Tc ~ 88 K, pseudogap temperature T* ~ 220 K). The response is distinctly enhanced below T* and exhibits a Y-shaped dispersion in the pseudogap state, whereas the superconducting state features an X-shaped (hourglass) dispersion and a further resonance-like enhancement. A large spin gap of about 40 meV is observed in both states. This phenomenology is reminiscent of that exhibited by bilayer cuprates. The resonance spectral weight, irrespective of doping and compound, scales linearly with the putative binding energy of a spin-exciton described by an itinerant-spin formalism.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Commensurate antiferromagnetic excitations as a signature of the pseudogap in the tetragonal high-Tc cuprate HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+δ}$

Antiferromagnetic correlations have been argued to be the cause of the d-wave superconductivity and the pseudogap phenomena exhibited by the cuprates. Although the antiferromagnetic response in the pseudogap state has been reported for a number of compounds, there exists no information for structurally simple HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+δ}$. Here we report neutron scattering results for HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4+δ}$ (superconducting transition temperature T$_c$ $\sim$ 71 K, pseudogap temperature T* $\sim$ 305 K) that demonstrate the absence of the two most prominent features of the magnetic excitation spectrum of the cuprates: the X-shaped 'hourglass' response and the resonance mode in the superconducting state. Instead, the response is Y-shaped, gapped, and significantly enhanced below T*, and hence a prominent signature of the pseudogap state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Intra-Unit-Cell magnetic correlations near optimal doping in $\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_{6.85}$

Understanding high-temperature superconductivity requires a prior knowledge of the nature of the enigmatic pseudogap metallic state, out of which the superconducting state condenses. In addition to the electronic orders involving charge degrees of freedoms recently reported inside the pseudogap state, a magnetic intra-unit-cell (IUC) order was discovered in various cuprates to set in just at the pseudogap temperature, T*. In nearly optimally doped YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.85}$, polarized neutron scattering measurements, carried out on two different spectrometers, reveal new features. The order is made of finite size planar domains, hardly correlated along the c-axis. At high temperature, only the out-of-plane magnetic components correlate, revealing a strong Ising anistropy, as originally predicted in the loop current model. Below T*, a correlated in-plane response develops, giving rise the apparent tilt of the magnetic moment at low temperature. The discovery of these two regimes put stringent constraints on the intrinsict nature of IUC order, tightly bound to the pseudogap physics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Characterization of the Intra-Unit-Cell magnetic order in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d

As in YBa2Cu3O6+x and HgBa2CuO8+d, the pseudo-gap state in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d is characterized by the existence of an intra-unit-cell magnetic order revealed by polarized neutron scattering technique. We report here a supplementary set of polarized neutron scattering measurements for which the direction of the magnetic moment is determined and the magnetic intensity is calibrated in absolute units. The new data allow a close comparison between bilayer systems YBa2Cu3O6+x and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d and rise important questions concerning the range of the magnetic correlations and the role of disorder around optimal doping.

cond-mat.supr-con↗