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R. D. McKenzie

Publications and source records attributed to R. D. McKenzie.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Nature of quantum criticality in the Ising ferromagnet TbV$_6$Sn$_6$

TbV$_6$Sn$_6$ is a topological metal where ferromagnetic Tb ions with strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy interact with V kagome layers. Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements show that the Tb ions adopt an Ising doublet ground state. Here, we consider whether a transverse magnetic field can drive TbV$_6$Sn$_6$ toward a quantum critical point, providing a rare example of transverse-field Ising criticality in a metallic compound. High-field magnetization measurements reveal a first-order-like spin-reorientation transition at 25.6 T. Our INS-based magnetic model finds that this is caused by an avoided crossing of an excited-state singlet with the ground-state doublet. Surprisingly, our model predicts that quantum critical and tricritical points are accessible within the range of experimentally determined model parameters and may be reached by varying the direction of an applied magnetic field.

cond-mat.str-el

Direct Observation of Collective Electronuclear Modes About a Quantum Critical Point

We directly measure the low energy excitation modes of the quantum Ising magnet LiHoF$_4$ using microwave spectroscopy. Instead of a single electronic mode, we find a set of collective electronuclear modes, in which the spin-$1/2$ Ising electronic spins hybridize with the bath of spin-$7/2$ Ho nuclear spins. The lowest-lying electronuclear mode softens at the approach to the quantum critical point, even in the presence of disorder. This softening is rapidly quenched by a longitudinal magnetic field. Similar electronuclear structures should exist in other spin-based quantum Ising systems.

cond-mat.str-el

Thermodynamics of a Quantum Ising system coupled to a spin bath: Zero Temperature Results

We study the effect of coupling a spin bath environment to a system which, at low energies, can be modeled as a quantum Ising system. A field theoretic formalism incorporating both thermal and quantum fluctuations is developed to derive results for the thermodynamic properties and response functions, both for a toy model and for the $LiHoF_4$ system, in which spin-8 electronic spins couple to a spin-$7/2$ nuclear spin bath: the phase transition then occurs in a system of electronuclear degrees of freedom, coupled by long-range dipolar interactions. The quantum Ising phase transition still exists, and one hybridized mode of the Ising and bath spins always goes soft at the transition.

cond-mat.str-el