arXiv subjects

Romain Sibille

Publications and source records attributed to Romain Sibille.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Coulomb spin liquid in anion-disordered pyrochlore Tb$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$

The charge ordered structure of ions and vacancies characterizing rare-earth pyrochlore oxides serves as a model for the study of geometrically frustrated magnetism. The organization of magnetic ions into networks of corner-sharing tetrahedra gives rise to highly correlated magnetic phases with strong fluctuations, including spin liquids and spin ices. It is an open question how these ground states governed by local rules are affected by disorder. In the pyrochlore Tb$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$, we demonstrate that the vicinity of the disordering transition towards a defective fluorite structure translates into a tunable density of anion Frenkel disorder while cations remain ordered. Quenched random crystal fields and disordered exchange interactions can therefore be introduced into otherwise perfect pyrochlore lattices of magnetic ions. We show that disorder can play a crucial role in preventing long-range magnetic order at low temperatures, and instead induces a strongly-fluctuating Coulomb spin liquid with defect-induced frozen magnetic degrees of freedom.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Single crystal growth, structure and magnetic properties of Pr2Hf2O7 pyrochlore

Large single crystals of the pyrochlore Pr2Hf2O7 have been successfully grown by the floating zone technique using an optical furnace equipped with high power Xenon arc lamps. Structural investigations have been carried out by both synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction to establish the crystallographic structure of the materials produced. The magnetic properties of the single crystals have been determined for magnetic fields applied along different crystallographic axes. The results reveal that Pr2Hf2O7 is an interesting material for further investigations as a frustrated magnet. The high quality of the crystals produced make them ideal for detailed investigations, especially those using neutron scattering techniques.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Candidate quantum spin ice in the pyrochlore Pr$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$

We report the low temperature magnetic properties of the pyrochlore Pr$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$. Polycrystalline and single-crystal samples are investigated using time-of-flight neutron spectroscopy and macroscopic measurements, respectively. The crystal-field splitting produces a non-Kramers doublet ground state for Pr$^{3+}$, with Ising-like anisotropy. Below 0.5 K ferromagnetic correlations develop, which suggests that the system enters a spin ice-like state associated with the metamagnetic behavior observed at $μ_0H_c\sim2.4$~T. In this regime, the development of a discrete inelastic excitation in the neutron spectra indicates the appearance of spin dynamics which are likely related to cooperative quantum fluctuations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Candidate Quantum Spin Liquid in the Ce\textsuperscript{3+} Pyrochlore Stannate Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$

We report the low temperature magnetic properties of Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$, a rare-earth pyrochlore. Our susceptibility and magnetization measurements show that due to the thermal isolation of a Kramers doublet ground state, Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ has Ising-like magnetic moments of $\sim1.18$ $μ_\mathrm{B}$. The magnetic moments are confined to the local trigonal axes, as in a spin ice, but the exchange interactions are antiferromagnetic. Below 1 K the system enters a regime with antiferromagnetic correlations. In contrast to predictions for classical $\langle 111 \rangle$-Ising spins on the pyrochlore lattice, there is no sign of long-range ordering down to 0.02 K. Our results suggest that Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ features an antiferromagnetic liquid ground state with strong quantum fluctuations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Spiral spin-liquid and the emergence of a vortex-like state in MnSc$_2$S$_4$

Spirals and helices are common motifs of long-range order in magnetic solids, and they may also be organized into more complex emergent structures such as magnetic skyrmions and vortices. A new type of spiral state, the spiral spin-liquid, in which spins fluctuate collectively as spirals, has recently been predicted to exist. Here, using neutron scattering techniques, we experimentally prove the existence of a spiral spin-liquid in MnSc$_2$S$_4$ by directly observing the 'spiral surface' - a continuous surface of spiral propagation vectors in reciprocal space. We elucidate the multi-step ordering behavior of the spiral spin-liquid, and discover a vortex-like triple-q phase on application of a magnetic field. Our results prove the effectiveness of the $J_1$-$J_2$ Hamiltonian on the diamond lattice as a model for the spiral spin-liquid state in MnSc$_2$S$_4$, and also demonstrate a new way to realize a magnetic vortex lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Magnetic structure and dynamics of a strongly one-dimensional cobalt$^{II}$ metal-organic framework

We investigate the magnetism of the Co$^{II}_4$(OH)$_2$(C$_1$$_0$H$_1$$_6$O$_4$)$_3$ metal-organic framework which displays complex inorganic chains separated from each other by distances of 1 to 2 nm, and which orders at ~5.4 K. The zero-field magnetic structure is determined using neutron powder diffraction: it is mainly antiferromagnetic but posseses a ferromagnetic component along the $\textbf{c}$-axis. This magnetic structure persists in presence of a magnetic field. Ac susceptibility measurements confirm the existence of a single thermally activated regime over 7 decades in frequency ($E/k_B\approx64 K$) whereas time-dependent relaxation of the magnetization after saturation in an external field leads to a two times smaller energy barrier. These experiments probe the slow dynamics of domain walls within the chains: we propose that the ac measurements are sensitive to the motion of existing domain walls within the chains, while the magnetization measurements are governed by the creation of domain walls.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗