ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Fractional spinon excitations in triangular-lattice quantum-spin-liquid candidate

Abstract: A quantum spin liquid (QSL) is an exotic state of matter, which shows no magnetic order down to zero temperature but the spins are highly entangled. Its elementary excitations are fractional spinon excitations that show continuous spectra in neutron experiments. Experimental evidence has been found in 2D triangular-lattice YbMgGaO4, displaying dispersive spinon excitations with a clear upper edge. Here, we propose to study its isostructural compound TmMgGaO4 single crystals, which present paramagnetic behavior with Curie-Weiss temperature of around -20 K, indicating a stronger magnetic interaction than YbMgGaO4. Moreover, its non-Kramer’s doublet ground state can lead to a different spin Hamiltonian and a different topological structure can be expected. Thus, it is rather interesting to study the potential spinon excitations in TmMgGaO4 to provide another testing ground for QSL studies.

Principal Investigator: Mr Jun Zhao
Local Contact: Dr Rob Bewley
Experimenter: Dr Yu Feng
Experimenter: Dr Hongliang Wo
Experimenter: Dr Yao Shen
Local Contact: Dr David Voneshen

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1720376

ISIS Experiment Number: RB1720376

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Mr Jun Zhao et al; (2018): Fractional spinon excitations in triangular-lattice quantum-spin-liquid candidate, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1720376

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.