arXiv subjects

Michel J. P. Gingras

Publications and source records attributed to Michel J. P. Gingras.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Collective Phenomena in the LiHo_xY_{1-x}F4 Quantum Ising Magnet: Recent Progress and Open Questions

In LiHo_xY_{1-x}F4, the magnetic Holmium Ho^{3+} ions behave as effective Ising spins that can point parallel or antiparallel to the crystalline c-axis. The predominant inter-Holmium interaction is dipolar, while the Y^{3+} ions are non-magnetic. The application of a magnetic field Bx transverse to the c-axis Ising direction leads to quantum spin-flip fluctuations, making this material a rare physical realization of the celebrated transverse field Ising model. The problems of classical and transverse-field-induced quantum phase transitions in LiHo_xY_{1-x}F_4 in the dipolar ferromagnetic (x=1), diluted ferromagnetic (0.25 <~ x < 1) and highly diluted x<~0.25 dipolar spin glass regimes have attracted much experimental and theoretical interest over the past twenty-five years. Two questions have received particular attention: (i) is there an {\it antiglass} (quantum disordered) phase at low Ho^{3+} concentration and (ii) what is the mechanism responsible for the fast Bx-induced destruction of the ferromagnetic (0.25 <~ x < 1) and spin glass (x <~ 0.25) phases? This paper reviews some of the recent theoretical and experimental progress in our understanding of the collective phenomena at play in LiHo_xY_{1-x}F4, in both zero and nonzero Bx.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2010

Soft dipolar spin ice physics and the ordered phase of the frustrated Tb2Sn2O7 pyrochlore magnet

From a microscopic model for the pyrochlore antiferromagnet Tb2Sn2O7, including the crystal field Hamiltonian and interactions between the angular momenta, we compute an effective pseudospin-1/2 Hamiltonian Heff$ that incorporates perturbatively in the effective interactions the effect of excited crystal field levels. We obtain the semiclassical ground states of Heff and find a region of parameter space with a two-in/two-out spin ice configuration on each tetrahedron with ordering wavevector q=0 and with spins canted away from the local Ising axes as found in Tb2Sn2O7. This ground state can also be obtained from a dipolar spin ice model in which the Ising constraint is softened. Monte Carlo simulations on the latter model reveal a region of the phase diagram with spin ice-like freezing and another with a transition into Tb2Sn2O7-type long range order. We comment on the differences between Tb2Sn2O7 and the perplexing spin liquid Tb2Ti2O7.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Thermodynamic Spin Glass Phase Induced by Weak Random Exchange Disorder in a Classical Spin Liquid: the Case of the Pyrochlore Heisenberg Antiferromagnet

The glassy behavior observed in the pyrochlore magnet Y2Mo2O7, where the magnetic Mo^{4+} ions interact predominantly via isotropic nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic exchange, possibly with additional weak disorder, is a distinct class of spin glass systems where frustration is mostly geometrical. A model proposed to describe such a spin glass behavior is the Heisenberg model on a pyrochlore lattice with random but strictly antiferromagnetic exchange disorder. In this paper, we provide compelling numerical evidence from extensive Monte Carlo simulations which show that the model exhibits a finite temperature spin glass transition and thus is a realization of a spin glass induced by random weak disorder from spin liquid. From our results, we are led to suggest that the spin glass state of Y2Mo2O7 is driven by effective strong disorder.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Observing Monopoles in a Magnetic Analog of Ice

This is a nontechnical Perspective commentary on two recent neutron scattering experiments (Science 326, 415 (2009) and Science 326, 411 (2009)) reporting evidence for the validity of a "Coulomb phase" description of the low-temperature regime of frustrated spin ice magnetic materials as well as the existence of topological defect (monopole-like) excitations in these systems.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2010

A Superglass Phase of Interacting Bosons

We introduce a Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian with random disordered interactions as a model to study the interplay of superfluidity and glassiness in a system of three-dimensional hard-core bosons at half-filling. Solving the model using large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we show that these disordered interactions promote a stable superglass phase, where superflow and glassy density localization coexist in equilibrium without exhibiting phase separation. The robustness of the superglass phase is underlined by its existence in a replica mean-field calculation on the infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2009

Evidence for a Finite-Temperature Spin Glass Transition in a Diluted Dipolar Heisenberg Model in Three Dimensions

By means of parallel tempering Monte Carlo simulations we find strong evidence for a finite-temperature spin-glass transition in a system of diluted classical Heisenberg dipoles randomly placed on the sites of a simple cubic lattice. We perform a finite-size scaling analysis of the spin-glass susceptibility, $χ_{\rm SG}$, and spin-glass correlation length, $ξ_{L}$. For the available system sizes that can be successfully equilibrated, the crossing of $ξ_{L}/L$ versus temperature is strongly affected by corrections to scaling and possibly by a short-length scale ferromagnetic spin blocking. Similarly to many studies of different three dimensional spin-glass systems, we do not find a crossing of the spin glass order parameter Binder ratio.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2009

Towards an Effective Spin Hamiltonian of the Pyrochlore Spin Liquid Tb2Ti2O7

Tb2Ti2O7 is a pyrochlore antiferromagnet that has dynamical spins and only short-range correlations even at 50 mK; the lowest temperature explored so far, which is much smaller than the scale set by the Curie-Weiss temperature T_{CW}~14 K. The absence of long-range order in this material is not understood. Recently, virtual crystal field excitations (VCFEs) have been shown to be significant in Tb2Ti2O7. While previous work found that VCFEs-induced renormalization of the nearest neighbor Ising exchange leads to spin ice correlations on a single tetrahedron, their effect on spin correlations has not been fully explored. In this paper, we construct an effective spin-1/2 low-energy theory for Tb2Ti2O7 on the pyrochlore lattice. We determine semiclassical ground states on a lattice that allow us to see how the physics of spin ice is connected to the possible physics of Tb2Ti2O7. We observe a shift in the phase boundaries with respect to those of the dipolar spin ice model as the quantum corrections become more significant. In addition to the familiar classical dipolar spin ice model phases, we see a stabilization of a q = 0 ordered ice phase over a large part of the phase diagram; ferromagnetic correlations being preferred by quantum corrections in spite of an antiferromagnetic nearest neighbor exchange in the microscopic model. Frustration is hence seen to arise from virtual crystal field excitations over and above the effect of dipolar interactions in spin ice in inducing ice-like correlations.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

Spin Glass Transition at Nonzero Temperature in a Disordered Dipolar Ising System: The Case of LiHoxY{1-x}F4

The physics of the spin glass (SG) state, with magnetic moments (spins) frozen in random orientations, is one of the most intriguing problems in condensed matter physics. While most theoretical studies have focused on the Edwards-Anderson model of Ising spins with only discrete `up/down' directions, such Ising systems are experimentally rare. LiHo$_{x}$Y$_{1-x}$F$_{4}$, where the Ho$^{3+}$ moments are well described by Ising spins, is an almost ideal Ising SG material. In LiHo$_{x}$Y$_{1-x}$F$_{4}$, the Ho$^{3+}$ moments interact predominantly via the inherently frustrated magnetostatic dipole-dipole interactions. The random frustration causing the SG behavior originates from the random substitution of dipole-coupled Ho$^{3+}$ by non-magnetic Y$^{3+}$. In this paper, we provide compelling evidence from extensive computer simulations that a SG transition at nonzero temperature occurs in a realistic microscopic model of LiHo$_{x}$Y$_{1-x}$F$_{4}$, hence resolving the long-standing, and still ongoing, controversy about the existence of a SG transition in disordered dipolar Ising systems.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2009

Magnetic Pyrochlore Oxides

Within the past 20 years or so, there has occurred an explosion of interest in the magnetic behavior of pyrochlore oxides of the type $A_{2}^{3+}$$B_{2}^{4+}$O$_{7}$ where $A$ is a rare-earth ion and $B$ is usually a transition metal. Both the $A$ and $B$ sites form a network of corner-sharing tetrahedra which is the quintessential framework for a geometrically frustrated magnet. In these systems the natural tendency to form long range ordered ground states in accord with the Third Law is frustrated, resulting in some novel short range ordered alternatives such as spin glasses, spin ices and spin liquids and much new physics. This article attempts to review the myriad of properties found in pyrochlore oxides, mainly from a materials perspective, but with an appropriate theoretical context.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2009

Spin Ice

Geometric frustration usually arises in systems that comprise magnetic moments (spins) which reside on the sites of a lattice made up of elementary triangular or tetrahedral units and which interact via antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor exchange. Albeit much less common, geometric frustration can also arise in systems with strong non-collinear single-ion easy-axis (Ising-like) anisotropy and ferromagnetically} coupled spins. This is what happens in some pyrochlore oxide materials where Ising-like magnetic rare earth moments (Ho$^{3+}$, Dy$^{3+}$) sit on a lattice of corner-shared tetrahedra and are coupled via effectively ferromagnetic (dipolar) interactions. These systems possess a macroscopic number of quasi-degenerate classical ground states and display an extensive low-temperature entropy closely related to the extensive proton disorder entropy in common water ice. For this reason, these magnetic systems are called {\it spin ice}. This chapter reviews the essential ingredients of spin ice phenomenology in magnetic pyrochlore oxides.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2009

Proposal for a [111] Magnetization Plateau in the Spin Liquid State of Tb2Ti2O7

Despite a Curie-Weiss temperature $θ_{\rm CW} \sim -14$ K, the Tb2Ti2O7 pyrochlore magnetic material lacks long range magnetic order down to at least $T^*\approx 50$ mK. It has recently been proposed that the low temperature collective paramagnetic or spin liquid regime of this material may be akin to a spin ice state subject to both thermal and quantum fluctuations $-$ a {\it quantum spin ice} (QSI) of sorts. Here we explore the effect of a magnetic field ${\bm B}$ along the $[111]$ direction on the QSI state. To do so, we investigate the magnetic properties of a microscopic model of Tb2Ti2O7 in an independent tetrahedron approximation in a finite ${\bm B}$ along $[111]$. Such a model describes semi-quantitatively the collective paramagnetic regime where nontrivial spin correlations start to develop at the shortest lengthscale, that is over a single tetrahedron, but where no long range order is yet present. Our results show that a magnetization plateau develops at low temperatures as the system develops ${\bm B}=0$ ferromagnetic spin-ice-like "two-in/two-out" correlations at the shortest lengthscale. From these results, we are led to propose that the observation of such a [111] magnetization plateau in Tb2Ti2O7 would provide compelling evidence for a QSI at ${\bm B}=0$ in this material and help guide the development of a theory for the origin of its spin liquid state.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Assessment of the RE(OH)3 Ising-like Magnetic Materials as Possible Candidates for the Study of Transverse-Field-Induced Quantum Phase Transitions

The LiHo$_x$Y$_{1-x}$F$_4$ Ising magnetic material subject to a magnetic field, $B_x$, perpendicular to the Ho$^{3+}$ Ising direction has shown over the past twenty years to be a host of very interesting thermodynamic and magnetic phenomena. Unfortunately, the availability of other magnetic materials other than LiHo$_x$Y$_{1-x}$F$_4$ that may be described by a transverse field Ising model remains very much limited. It is in this context that we use here mean-field theory to investigate the suitability of the Ho(OH)$_{3}$, Dy(OH)$_{3}$ and Tb(OH)$_3$ insulating hexagonal dipolar Ising-like ferromagnets for the study of the quantum phase transition induced by a magnetic field, $B_x$, applied perpendicular to the Ising spin direction. From our calculations we estimate the critical transverse field, $B_{x}^{c}$, to destroy ferromagnetic order at zero temperature to be $B_{x}^{c}=$4.35 T, $B_{x}^{c}=$5.03 T and $B_{x}^{c}=$54.81 T for Ho(OH)$_{3}$, Dy(OH)$_{3}$ and Tb(OH)$_{3}$, respectively. We conclude from our calculations that Ho(OH)$_{3}$ and Dy(OH)$_{3}$, and their Y$^{3+}$ diamagnetically diluted variants, Ho$_{x}$Y$_{1-x}$(OH)$_{3}$ and Dy$_{x}$Y$_{1-x}$(OH)$_{3}$, are potentially interesting systems to study transverse-field induced quantum fluctuations effects in hard axis (Ising-like) magnetic materials.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Dy2Ti2O7 Spin Ice: a Test Case for Emergent Clusters in a Frustrated Magnet

Dy2Ti2O7 is a geometrically frustrated magnetic material with a strongly correlated spin ice regime that extends from 1 K down to as low as 60 mK. The diffuse elastic neutron scattering intensities in the spin ice regime can be remarkably well described by a phenomenological model of weakly interacting hexagonal spin clusters, as invoked in other geometrically frustrated magnets. We present a highly refined microscopic theory of Dy2Ti2O7 that includes long-range dipolar and exchange interactions to third nearest neighbors and which demonstrates that the clusters are purely fictitious in this material. The seeming emergence of composite spin clusters and their associated scattering pattern is instead an indicator of fine-tuning of ancillary correlations within a strongly correlated state.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2008

Zero-temperature phase of the XY spin glass in two dimensions: Genetic embedded matching heuristic

For many real spin-glass materials, the Edwards-Anderson model with continuous-symmetry spins is more realistic than the rather better understood Ising variant. In principle, the nature of an occurring spin-glass phase in such systems might be inferred from an analysis of the zero-temperature properties. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, the problem of finding ground-state configurations is a non-polynomial problem computationally, such that efficient approximation algorithms are called for. Here, we employ the recently developed genetic embedded matching (GEM) heuristic to investigate the nature of the zero-temperature phase of the bimodal XY spin glass in two dimensions. We analyze bulk properties such as the asymptotic ground-state energy and the phase diagram of disorder strength vs. disorder concentration. For the case of a symmetric distribution of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic bonds, we find that the ground state of the model is unique up to a global O(2) rotation of the spins. In particular, there are no extensive degeneracies in this model. The main focus of this work is on an investigation of the excitation spectrum as probed by changing the boundary conditions. Using appropriate finite-size scaling techniques, we consistently determine the stiffness of spin and chiral domain walls and the corresponding fractal dimensions. Most noteworthy, we find that the spin and chiral channels are characterized by two distinct stiffness exponents and, consequently, the system displays spin-chirality decoupling at large length scales. Results for the overlap distribution do not support the possibility of a multitude of thermodynamic pure states.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2007

Low temperature specific heat and possible gap to magnetic excitations in the Heisenberg pyrochlore antiferromagnet Gd2Sn207

The Gd2Sn2O7 pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet displays a phase transition to a four sublattice Neel ordered state at a temperature near 1 K. Despite the seemingly conventional nature of the ordered state, the specific heat has been found to be described in the temperature range 350-800 mK by an anomalous T-squared power law. A similar temperature dependence has also been reported for Gd2Ti2O7, another pyrochlore Heisenberg material. Such anomalous T-squared behavior in Cv has been argued to be correlated to an unusual energy-dependence of the density of states which also seemingly manifests itself in low-temperature spin fluctuations found in muon spin relaxation experiments. In this paper, we report calculations of Cv that consider spin wave like excitations out of the Neel order observed in Gd2Sn2O7 and argue that the parametric T-squared behavior does not reflect the true low-energy excitations of Gd2Sn2O7. Rather, we find that the low-energy excitations of this material are antiferromagnetic magnons gapped by single-ion and dipolar anisotropy effects, and that the lowest temperature of 350 mK considered in previous specific heat measurements accidentally happens to coincide with a crossover temperature below which magnons become thermally activated and Cv takes an exponential form. We argue that further specific heat measurements that extend down to at least 100 mK are required in order to ascribe an unconventional description of magnetic excitations out of the ground state of Gd2Sn2O7 or to invalidate the standard picture of gapped excitations proposed herein.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Spin Hamiltonian, Competing Small Energy Scales and Incommensurate Long Range Order in the Highly Frustrated Gd3Ga5O12 Garnet Antiferromagnet

Despite the availability of a spin Hamiltonian for the Gd3Ga5O12 garnet (GGG) for over twenty five years, there has so far been little theoretical insight regarding the many unusual low temperature properties of GGG. Here we investigate GGG in zero magnetic field using mean-field theory. We reproduce the spin liquid-like correlations and, most importantly, explain the positions of the sharp peaks seen in powder neutron diffraction experiments. We show that it is crucial to treat accurately the long-range nature of the magnetic dipolar interactions to allow for a determination of the small exchange energy scales involved in the selection of the experimental ordering wave vector. Our results show that the incommensurate order in GGG is classical in nature, intrinsic to the microscopic spin Hamiltonian and not caused by weak disorder.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Dynamically-Induced Frustration as a Route to a Quantum Spin Ice State in Tb2Ti2O7 via Virtual Crystal Field Excitations and Quantum Many-Body Effects

The Tb$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ pyrochlore magnetic material is attracting much attention for its {\em spin liquid} state, failing to develop long range order down to 50 mK despite a Curie-Weiss temperature $θ_{\rm CW} \sim -14$ K. In this paper we reinvestigate the theoretical description of this material by considering a quantum model of independent tetrahedra to describe its low temperature properties. The naturally-tuned proximity of this system near a Néel to spin ice phase boundary allows for a resurgence of quantum fluctuation effects that lead to an important renormalization of its effective low energy spin Hamiltonian. As a result, Tb$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ is argued to be a {\em quantum spin ice}. We put forward an experimental test of this proposal using neutron scattering on a single crystal.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2006

Ill-Behaved Convergence of a Model of the Gd3Ga5O12 Garnet Antiferromagnet with Truncated Magnetic Dipole-Dipole Interactions

Previous studies have found that calculations which consider long-range magnetic dipolar interactions truncated at a finite cut-off distance Rc predict spurious (unphysical) long-range ordered phases for Ising and Heisenberg systems on the pyrochlore lattice. In this paper we show that, similar to these two cases, calculations that use truncated dipolar interactions to model the Gd3Ga5O12 garnet antiferromagnet also predict unphysical phases with incommensurate ordering wave vector q_ord that is very sensitive to the dipolar cut-off distance Rc.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗