arXiv subjects

Thomas Lorenz

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Lorenz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Magnetization processes and spin dynamics across field-induced phase transitions in the quasi-two-dimensional quantum magnet Cu$_2$(OH)$_3$Br

We present magnetic-field-dependent evolution of magnetization and spin dynamics in the quasi-two-dimensional spin-$1/2$ magnet $\mathrm{Cu_2(OH)_3Br}$, consisting of alternately coupled ferromagnetic Cu1 and antiferromagnetic Cu2 spin chains. Terahertz spectroscopy reveals a pronounced field-direction dependence of the low-energy magnetic excitation spectrum. For magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the spin chains, $B\parallel a$ and $B\parallel c^*$, the spectra undergo abrupt reconstructions at the spin-flop transitions identified independently by high-field magnetization measurements. For $B\parallel b$, by contrast, no spin-flop occurs; instead, the excitation spectrum evolves continuously with field and exhibits a strong terahertz radiation polarization dependence as the ferromagnetic Cu1 subsystem becomes progressively polarized. At higher fields, the complex low-field spectrum is replaced by a reduced set of broad excitations, consistent with a weakening of the coupling between the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic chain subsystems. Complementary Raman spectroscopy resolves magnon and spinon excitations alongside several phonon modes and traces the characteristic temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent evolution of the magnetic excitations. The combined spectroscopic and magnetization results map out how a magnetic field reorganizes the coupled ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic subsystems in $\mathrm{Cu_2(OH)_3Br}$ across field-induced phase transitions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Observation of an emergent energy scale close to dimensional reduction in a quasi-two-dimensional quantum magnet

By appropriately perturbing a critical transverse-field Ising chain away from its critical point, the system can develop a finite correlation length with a characteristic purely massive spectrum, whose ratios and correlations are precisely described by an integrable field theory and an infinite set of integrals of motion corresponding to the $E_8$ Lie algebra. In this work, we report on experimental observation of a characteristic massive spectrum close to transverse field-induced dimensional reduction in a quasi-two-dimensional quantum magnet Cu$_2$(OH)$_3$Br, providing evidence for an emergent $E_8$ symmetry and the corresponding excitations of bound states in the sublattice of its ferromagnetic chains. These results demonstrate the power of integrable field theory in describing emergent many-body quantum critical phenomena in condensed matter systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Microscopic origin of an exceptionally large phonon thermal Hall effect from charge puddles in a topological insulator

We present the experimental observation of a drastically enhanced thermal Hall effect in the topological insulator material TlBi$_{0.15}$Sb$_{0.85}$Te$_2$. Although heat transport is dominated by phonons, moderate magnetic fields generate a thermal Hall ratio ($κ_{xy}/κ_{xx}$) above 2\%, an unprecedented value for a nonmagnetic material. The transverse thermal conductivity $κ_{xy}$ exhibits a pronounced maximum in fields of a few Tesla. This characteristic field dependence allows us to identify the microscopic origin of the thermal Hall effect in this system. Small densities of charged impurities induce locally conducting regions, so-called charge puddles, within the bulk insulating matrix. Via electron-phonon coupling, these charge puddles imprint a large thermal Hall effect onto the phonons accounting for both the magnitude and the magnetic-field dependence of the observed effect.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Experimental observation of repulsively bound magnons

Stable composite objects, such as hadrons, nuclei, atoms, molecules and superconducting pairs, formed by attractive forces are ubiquitous in nature. By contrast, composite objects stabilized by means of repulsive forces were long thought to be theoretical constructions owing to their fragility in naturally occurring systems. Surprisingly, the formation of bound atom pairs by strong repulsive interactions has been demonstrated experimentally in optical lattices. Despite this success, repulsively bound particle pairs were believed to have no analogue in condensed matter owing to strong decay channels. Here we present spectroscopic signatures of repulsively bound three-magnon states and bound magnon pairs in the Ising-like chain antiferromagnet BaCo$_2$V$_2$O$_8$. In large transverse fields, below the quantum critical point, we identify repulsively bound magnon states by comparing terahertz spectroscopy measurements to theoretical results for the Heisenberg-Ising chain antiferromagnet, a paradigmatic quantum many-body model. Our experimental results show that these high-energy repulsively bound magnon states are well separated from continua, exhibit significant dynamical responses and, despite dissipation, are sufficiently long-lived to be identified. As the transport properties in spin chains can be altered by magnon bound states, we envision such states could serve as resources for magnonics based quantum information processing technologies.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Magnetization process of a quasi-two-dimensional quantum magnet: Two-step symmetry restoration and dimensional reduction

We report on a comprehensive thermodynamic study of a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) quantum magnet Cu$_2$(OH)$_3$Br which in the 2D layer can be viewed as strongly coupled alternating antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic chains. In an applied magnetic field transverse to the ordered spins below $T_N=9.3$ K, a field-induced phase transition from the 3D ordered to a disordered phase occurs at $B_c=16.3$ T for the lowest temperature, which is featured by an onset of a one-half plateau-like magnetization. By performing quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the relevant 2D model, we find that the plateau-like magnetization corresponds to a partial symmetry restoration and the full polarization in the ferromagnetic chains. Our numerical simulations also show that the magnetization saturation occurs with full symmetry restoration at a much higher field of $B_s \simeq 95$ T, corresponding to a 1D quantum phase transition in the antiferromagnetic chains. We argue that the experimentally observed field-induced phase transition at $B_c$ follows from the partial symmetry restoration and the concomitant dimensional reduction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Phonon thermal Hall effect in non-magnetic Y$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$

We report an investigation of the phonon thermal Hall effect in single crystal samples of Y$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$, Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$, and DyYTi$_2$O$_7$. We measured the field-linear thermal Hall effect in all three samples. The temperature dependence of thermal Hall conductivities shows a peak around 15 K, which coincides with the peak positions of the longitudinal thermal conductivities. The temperature-dependent longitudinal thermal conductivities indicates that phonons dominate thermal transport in all three samples. However, the presence of Dy$^{3+}$ magnetic ions introduces significant effects on the field dependence of longitudinal thermal conductivities. The thermal Hall ratio is sizeable in all three samples and consistent with the values reported for other insulating materials exhibiting a phononic thermal Hall effect, though their exact underlying mechanism remains yet to be identified. The thermal Hall ratio is nearly the same for $\rm Y_2Ti_2O_7$ and DyYTi$_2$O$_7$, and slightly larger for Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$, suggesting that magnetic impurities are less significant in generating the phononic thermal Hall effect. Our observations of the phononic thermal Hall effect support an intrinsic origin in Y$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$, but suggest a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic effects in Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ and DyYTi$_2$O$_7$.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Repulsively bound magnon excitations of a spin-1/2 XXZ chain in a staggered transverse field

We study the excitation spectrum of the one-dimensional spin-1/2 XXZ chain with antiferromagnetic Ising anisotropy across a magnetic quantum phase transition induced by the application of a site-dependent transverse magnetic field. Motivated by the chain antiferromagnet BaCo$_2$V$_2$O$_8$, we consider a situation where the transverse magnetic field has a strong uniform component and a weaker staggered part. To determine the nature of the excitations giving rise to the spin dynamical structure factor, we use a combination of analytical approaches and the numerically exact time-dependent matrix product state method. We identify below the quantum phase transition high-energy many-body two-magnon and three-magnon repulsively bound states which are clearly visible due to the staggered component of the magnetic field. At high magnetic fields and low temperature, single magnons dominate the dynamics. Our theory results are in very good agreement with terahertz spectroscopy experimental results presented in [Wang et al., Nature 631, 760 (2024)].

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Phonon thermal Hall effect in charge-compensated topological insulators

From a systematic study of thermal and charge transport in various single crystals of compensated topological insulators we identify the evolution of a large low-temperature thermal Hall effect as a characteristic common feature. In order to separate phononic and electronic contributions in the measured longitudinal and transverse thermal conductivity, the electronic contributions are estimated from corresponding electrical resisivity and Hall effect measurements on the same samples by using the Wiedemann-Franz law. As may be expected for charge-compensated topological insulators the longitudinal thermal conductivity is phonon-dominated in all samples. However, we also find a pronounced field-linear thermal Hall effect that becomes most pronounced in the low-temperature range, where all samples are good electrical insulators. This indicates an underlying phononic mechanism of the thermal Hall effect and in this respect the topological insulators resemble other, mainly ionic, insulators, which have been reported to show a phonon-induced thermal Hall effect, but its underlying phononic mechanism remains to be identified. Our observation of a comparable thermal Hall ratio in topological insulators supports a theoretical scenario that explains a thermal Hall effect through skew scattering on charged impurities.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Interplay of magnetic order and ferroelasticity in the spin-orbit coupled antiferromagnet K$_2$ReCl$_6$

The magnetic and structural phase transitions occurring in K$_2$ReCl$_6$ were studied by macroscopic and microscopic techniques. Structural phase transitions associated with rotations of the ReCl$_6$ octahedra lower the symmetry from cubic to monoclinic, form ferroelastic domains, and are visible in susceptibility, specific heat and thermal expansion measurements. In the antiferromagnetically ordered state slightly below $T_{\rm N}$=12\,K these domains can be rearranged by a magnetic field inducing a relative elongation of the polydomain crystal parallel to the field of 0.6\%. At zero field the magnetic structure in K$_2$ReCl$_6$ does not exhibit a weak ferromagnetic component, but at large magnetic field a distinct magnetic structure with a finite weak ferromagnetic component is stabilized. High magnetic fields rearrange the domains in the crystal to align the weak ferromagnetic moment parallel to the field. The altered domain structure with the crystal elongation is abruptly suppressed at lower temperature but persists upon heating to well above $T_{\rm N}$. However, heating above the lowest structural phase transition and successive cooling restore the initial shape.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Glass-like thermal conductivity and narrow insulating gap of EuTiO$_3$

Crystals and glasses differ by the amplitude and the temperature dependence of their thermal conductivity. However, there are crystals known to display glass-like thermal conductivity. Here, we show that EuTiO$_3$, a quantum paraelectric known to order antiferromagnetically at 5.5 K, is one such system. The temperature dependence of resistivity and Seebeck coefficient yield an insulating band gap of $\sim 0.22$ eV. Thermal conductivity is drastically reduced. Its amplitude and temperature dependence are akin to what is seen in amorphous silica. Comparison with non-magnetic perovskite solids, SrTiO$_3$, KTaO$_3$, and EuCoO$_3$, shows that what impedes heat transport are $4f$ spins at Eu$^{2+}$ sites, which couple to phonons well above the ordering temperature. Thus, in this case, superexchange and valence fluctuations, not magnetic frustration, are the drivers of the glass-like thermal conductivity.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Single-crystal study of the honeycomb XXZ magnet BaCo$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$ in magnetic fields

We present a study of high-quality BaCo$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$ single crystals via magnetization, heat-capacity, thermal-expansion and magnetostriction measurements. Sharp anomalies in the thermodynamic properties at $T_N=3.4\,$K reveal a long-range antiferromagnetic order in these single-crystalline samples, which is absent in polycrystalline BaCo$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$. The temperature dependent magnetic susceptibilities for in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields are strongly anisotropic and reveal a pronounced easy-plane anisotropy. A Curie-Weiss analysis implies strong orbital magnetism, as it is known from the sister compound BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$ that is discussed as a potential Kitaev spin-liquid material. When applying in-plane magnetic fields at low temperature, BaCo$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$ is driven to another ordered phase at a critical field $H_{C1}\approx 0.11\,$T and then undergoes a further field-induced transition to a highly polarized paramagnetic phase at $H_{C2}\approx 0.3\,$T, which is again similar to the case of BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$. In addition, our lowest-temperature data reveal that the field-induced transitions in BaCo$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$ become dominated by thermally assisted domain-wall motion.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Formation of an electron-phonon bi-fluid in bulk antimony

The flow of charge and entropy in solids usually depends on collisions decaying quasiparticle momentum. Hydrodynamic corrections can emerge, however, if most collisions among quasiparticles conserve momentum and the mean-free-path approaches the sample dimensions. Here, through a study of electrical and thermal transport in antimony (Sb) crystals of various sizes, we document the emergence of a two-component fluid of electrons and phonons. Lattice thermal conductivity is dominated by electron scattering down to 0.1 K and displays prominent quantum oscillations. The Dingle mobility does not vary despite an order-of-magnitude change in transport mobility. The Bloch-Grüneisen behavior of electrical resistivity is suddenly aborted below 15 K and replaced by a quadratic temperature dependence. At Kelvin temperature range, the phonon scattering time and the electron-electron scattering time display a similar amplitude and temperature dependence. Taken together, the results draw a consistent picture of a bi-fluid where frequent momentum-conserving collisions between electrons and phonons dominate the transport properties.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Experimental Observation of Quantum Many-Body Excitations of $E_8$ Symmetry in the Ising Chain Ferromagnet CoNb$_2$O$_6$

Close to the quantum critical point of the transverse-field Ising spin-chain model, an exotic dynamic spectrum was predicted to emerge upon a perturbative longitudinal field. The dynamic spectrum consists of eight particles and is governed by the symmetry of the $E_8$ Lie algebra. Here we report on high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy of quantum spin dynamics in the ferromagnetic Ising-chain material CoNb$_2$O$_6$. At 0.25 K in the magnetically ordered phase we identify characteristics of the first six $E_8$ particles, $\mathbf{m}_1$ to $\mathbf{m}_6$, and the two-particle ($\mathbf{m}_1+\mathbf{m}_2$) continuum in an applied transverse magnetic field of $B_c^{1D}=4.75$ T, before the three-dimensional magnetic order is suppressed above $B_c^{3D}\approx 5.3$ T. The observation of the higher-energy particles ($\mathbf{m}_3$ to $\mathbf{m}_6$) above the low-energy two-particle continua features quantum many-body effects in the exotic dynamic spectrum.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Observation of E8 Particles in an Ising Chain Antiferromagnet

Near the transverse-field induced quantum critical point of the Ising chain, an exotic dynamic spectrum consisting of exactly eight particles was predicted, which is uniquely described by an emergent quantum integrable field theory with the symmetry of the $E_8$ Lie algebra, but rarely explored experimentally. Here we use high-resolution terahertz spectroscopy to resolve quantum spin dynamics of the quasi-one-dimensional Ising antiferromagnet BaCo$_2$V$_2$O$_8$ in an applied transverse field. By comparing to an analytical calculation of the dynamical spin correlations, we identify $E_8$ particles as well as their two-particle excitations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Charge Transport in a Polar Metal

The fate of electric dipoles inside a Fermi sea is an old issue, yet poorly-explored. Sr$_{1-x}$Ca$_x$TiO$_{3}$ hosts a robust but dilute ferroelectricity in a narrow ($0.002<x<0.02$) window of substitution. This insulator becomes metallic by removal of a tiny fraction of its oxygen atoms. Here, we present a detailed study of low-temperature charge transport in Sr$_{1-x}$Ca$_x$TiO$_{3-δ}$, documenting the evolution of resistivity with increasing carrier concentration ($n$). Below a threshold carrier concentration, $n^*(x)$, the polar structural phase transition has a clear signature in resistivity and Ca substitution significantly reduces the 2 K mobility at a given carrier density. For three different Ca concentrations, we find that the phase transition fades away when one mobile electron is introduced for about $7.9\pm0.6$ dipoles. This threshold corresponds to the expected peak in anti-ferroelectric coupling mediated by a diplolar counterpart of Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction. Our results imply that the transition is driven by dipole-dipole interaction, even in presence of a dilute Fermi sea. Charge transport for $n < n^*(x)$ shows a non-monotonic temperature dependence, most probably caused by scattering off the transverse optical phonon mode. A quantitative explanation of charge transport in this polar metal remains a challenge to theory. For $n\geq n^*(x)$, resistivity follows a T-square behavior together with slight upturns (in both Ca-free and Ca-substituted samples). The latter are reminiscent of Kondo effect and most probably due to oxygen vacancies.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Magnetoelectric coupling in the mixed erythrosiderite [(NH$_4$)$_{1-x}$K$_x$]$_2$[FeCl$_5$(H$_2$O)]

We present a study of the dielectric, structural, and magnetic properties of the multiferroic or linear magnetoelectric substitution series [(NH$_4$)$_{1-x}$K$_x$]$_2$[FeCl$_5$(H$_2$O)]. Pyroelectric currents, magnetic susceptibilities, and thermodynamic properties were examined on large single crystals of the erythrosiderite compounds and detailed magnetic-field versus temperature phase diagrams are derived for three different substitution levels. With increasing potassium concentration the material is tuned from a multiferroic ($x \le 0.06$) to a linear magnetoelectric ($x \ge 0.15$) ground state. In contrast to the respective pure parent compounds with $x=0$ or 1, however, the ferroelectric or linear magnetoelectric polarization in none of the substituted samples is switchable by external electric fields, because these samples exhibit a significant electric polarization already above the magnetic ordering transition. The polarization arises at a higher-lying structural phase transition that is examined by THz spectroscopy and, on a deuterated pure single crystal, by comprehensive neutron-diffraction experiments. The structural phase transition is attributed to an ordering of NH$_4^+$ tetrahedra but does not break inversion symmetry in the pure material, while a finite K content causes pyroelectricity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Observation of chiral solitons in the quantum spin liquid phase of LiCuVO$_4$

Quantum spin liquids represent a magnetic ground state arising in the presence of strong quantum fluctuations that preclude ordering down to zero temperature and leave clear fingerprints in the excitation spectra. While theory bears a variety of possible quantum spin liquid phases their experimental realization is still scarce. Here, we report the first experimental evidence of a vector-chiral quantum spin liquid state in the $S=1/2$ spin chain compound LiCuVO$_4$ from measurements of the complex permittivity $\varepsilon^*$ in the GHz range. In zero magnetic field our results show short-lived thermally activated chiral fluctuations above the multiferroic phase transition at $T_\mathrm{N}=2.4$ K with divergent life-times when approaching $T_\mathrm{N}$. In $\varepsilon^*$ this fluctuation dynamics are seen as the slowing down of a relaxation with a critical dynamical exponent $ν_ξz \approx 1.3$ in agreement with mean-field predictions. When using a magnetic field to suppress $T_N$ towards 0 K the influence of quantum fluctuations is increased until they condense into the chrial spin liquid phase below 400 mK. Within this phase we measure a nearly-gapless chiral soliton excitation with a tiny energy gap of $E_\mathrm{SE}\approx14.1$ $μ$eV.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Generalized Anderson's theorem for superconductors derived from topological insulators

A well-known result in unconventional superconductivity is the fragility of nodal superconductors against nonmagnetic impurities. Despite this common wisdom, Bi$_2$Se$_3$-based topological superconductors have recently displayed unusual robustness against disorder. Here we provide a theoretical framework which naturally explains what protects Cooper pairs from strong scattering in complex superconductors. Our analysis is based on the concept of superconducting fitness and generalizes the famous Anderson's theorem into superconductors having multiple internal degrees of freedom. For concreteness, we report on the extreme example of the Cu$_x$(PbSe)$_5$(Bi$_2$Se$_3$)$_6$ superconductor, where thermal conductivity measurements down to 50 mK not only give unambiguous evidence for the existence of nodes, but also reveal that the energy scale corresponding to the scattering rate is orders of magnitude larger than the superconducting energy gap. This provides a most spectacular case of the generalized Anderson's theorem protecting a nodal superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗