The spin-half pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet (PHAF) is one of the most challenging problems in the field of highly frustrated quantum magnetism. Stimulated by the seminal paper of M.~Planck [M.~Planck, Verhandl. Dtsch. phys. Ges. {\bf 2}, 202-204 (1900)] we calculate thermodynamic properties of this model by interpolating between the low- and high-temperature behavior. For that we follow ideas developed in detail by B.~Bernu and G.~Misguich and use for the interpolation the entropy exploiting sum rules [the ``entropy method'' (EM)]. We complement the EM results for the specific heat, the entropy, and the susceptibility by corresponding results obtained by the finite-temperature Lanczos method (FTLM) for a finite lattice of $N=32$ sites as well as by the high-temperature expansion (HTE) data. We find that due to pronounced finite-size effects the FTLM data for $N=32$ are not representative for the infinite system below $T \approx 0.7$. A similar restriction to $T \gtrsim 0.7$ holds for the HTE designed for the infinite PHAF. By contrast, the EM provides reliable data for the whole temperature region for the infinite PHAF. We find evidence for a gapless spectrum leading to a power-law behavior of the specific heat at low $T$ and for a single maximum in $c(T)$ at $T\approx 0.25$. For the susceptibility $χ(T)$ we find indications of a monotonous increase of $χ$ upon decreasing of $T$ reaching $χ_0 \approx 0.1$ at $T=0$. Moreover, the EM allows to estimate the ground-state energy to $e_0\approx -0.52$.
Effects of local lattice distortions on the spin ordering are investigated for the antiferromagnetic classical Heisenberg model on the pyrochlore lattice. It is found by Monte Carlo simulations that the spin-lattice coupling (SLC) originating from site phonons induces a first-order transition into two different types of collinear magnetic ordered states. The state realized at stronger SLC is cubic symmetric characterized by the magnetic (1/2,1/2,1/2) Bragg peaks, while that at weaker SLC is tetragonal symmetric characterized by the (1,1,0) ones, each accompanied by the commensurate local latti…
Effect of structural disorder is investigated for an $XY$ pyrochlore antiferromagnet with continuous degeneracy of classical ground states. Two types of disorder, vacancies and weakly fluctuating exchange bonds, lift degeneracy selecting the same subset of classical ground states. Analytic and numerical results demonstrate that such an "order by structural disorder" mechanism competes with the effect of thermal and quantum fluctuations. Our theory predicts that a small amount of nonmagnetic impurities in $\rm{Er_2Ti_2O_7}$ will stabilize the coplanar $ψ_3$ ($m_{x^2-y^2}$) magnetic structure as…
This short note documents some of the pyrochlore magnetization plateaus resulting from the arguments of Pal & Lal that were not mentioned in arxiv:1902.06475v1. These are (layered) "Kagome"-like plateaus that are commensurate with the pyrochlore lattice, including an exact wavefunction for the $\frac{m}{m_s} = \frac{5}{6}$ plateau state.
We study the pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet with additional positive biquadratic interaction in the semiclassical limit. The classical ground state manifold of the model contains an extensively large family of non-coplanar spin states known as "color ice states". Starting from a color ice state, a subset of spins may rotate collectively at no energy cost. Such excitation may be viewed in this three-dimensional system as a "membrane-like" analog of the well-known weathervane modes in the classical kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet. We investigate the weathervane modes in detail and eluci…
We investigate the zero- and finite-temperature properties of the bond-random $s=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the pyrochlore lattice by the exact diagonalization and the Hams--de Raedt methods. We find that the randomness induces the gapless quantum spin liquid (QSL) state, the random-singlet state. Implications to recent experiments on the mixed-anion pyrochlore-lattice antiferromagnet Lu$_2$Mo$_2$O$_5$N$_2$ exhibiting gapless QSL behaviors are discussed.
Using $\rm Er_2Ti_2O_7$ as a motivation, we investigate finite-field properties of $XY$ pyrochlore antiferromagnets. In addition to a fluctuation-induced six-fold anisotropy present in zero field, an external magnetic field induces a combination of two-, three-, and six-fold clock terms as a function of its orientation providing for a rich and controllable magnetothermodynamics. For $\rm Er_2Ti_2O_7$, we predict a new phase transition for ${\bf H}\parallel [001]$. Re-entrant transitions are also found for ${\bf H}\parallel [111]$. We extend these results to the whole family the $XY$ pyrochlore…
Nematic, vector-multipole, and plateau-liquid states in the classical O(3) pyrochlore antiferromagnet with biquadratic interactions in applied magnetic field
The hedgehog lattice, a three-dimensional periodic array of magnetic monopoles and antimonopoles, is known to be realized in the presence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction. Here, we demonstrate by means of Monte Carlo simulations that the hedgehog lattice is induced by not the DM interaction but frustration in classical Heisenberg antiferromagnets on the breathing pyrochlore lattice. In the model, the breathing bond-alternation is characterized by the ratio of the nearest-neighbor (NN) antiferromagnetic exchange interaction for large tetrahedra to that for small ones, J1'/J1. A qua…
Motivated by recent observation of a new high field phase near saturation in chromium spinels $A$Cr$_2$O$_4$ ($A=$ Zn, Cd, Hg), we study the $S = 3/2$ pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet with biquadratic interactions. Magnon instability analysis at the saturation field reveals that a very small biquadratic interaction can induce magnon pairing in pyrochlore antiferromagnets, which leads to the emergence of a ferro-quadrupolar phase, or equivalently a spin nematic phase, below the saturation field. We present the magnetic phase diagram in an applied field, studying both $S=3/2$ and $S=1$ spin…
We study Ising pyrochlores by means of Monte Carlo simulations. We cover a set of exchange constants ranging from the frustrated ferromagnetic case (spin-ice) to the fully-ordered "all-in--all-out" antiferromagnet in the dipolar model, reinterpreting the results --as in an ionic system-- in terms of a temperature vs. magnetic charge density phase diagram. In spite of its spin nature and the presence of both double and single non-conserved magnetic charges, the dipolar model gives place to a phase diagram which is quite comparable with those previously obtained for on-lattice systems of electri…
Phase Transition and Thermal Order-by-Disorder in the Pyrochlore Quantum Antiferromagnet Er2Ti2O7: a High-Temperature Series Expansion Study
几种稀土磁性烧绿石材料可以用自旋为1/2的量子哈密顿量和各向异性交换参数Js来模拟。对于Er 2 Ti 2 O 7材料,J最近确定从高场非弹性中子散射测量。在这里,我们执行高温(T)系列展开,使用这些J来计算这种材料的热力学性质。与实验数据的比较表明,该模型很好地描述了材料在Tc~1.2 K的有限温度下的相变。我们表明,对于不同的q=0 xy序参量,高温展开式给出了相同的结果,直到β=1/T中的8阶(可能是β中的所有阶)。相反,与序参量的6次方相关的非线性磁化率揭示了在Er 2 Ti 2 O 7中发现的相同的非共线的Er 2 Ti 2 O2状态的热有序无序选择。
We theoretically investigate effects of lattice distortions on the spin ordering of classical Heisenberg antiferromagnets on the breathing pyrochlore lattice. In the model, local lattice distortions originating from the site vibration are taken into account to yield effective spin interactions via the spin-lattice coupling (SLC). The breathing lattice-alternation is characterized by the ratio of the nearest-neighbor interaction for large tetrahedra to that for small ones, J'/J. It is found by Monte Carlo simulations that the system exhibits a first-order transition into four different types of…
Inelastic neutron scattering measurement is performed on a breathing pyrochlore antiferromagnet Ba3Yb2Zn5O11. The observed dispersionless excitations are explained by a crystalline electric field (CEF) Hamiltonian of Kramers ion Yb3+ of which the local symmetry exhibits C3v point group symmetry. The magnetic susceptibility previously reported is consistently reproduced by the energy scheme of the CEF excitations. The obtained wave functions of the ground state Kramers doublet exhibit the planer-type anisotropy. The result demonstrates that Ba3Yb2Zn5O11 is an experimental realization of breathi…
Field-Driven Transitions in the Dipolar Pyrochlore Antiferromagnet Gd$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$
本文提出了偶极耦合的钛酸钆Gd $_2$ Ti $_2$ O $_7$焦绿石体系中磁场驱动跃迁的平均场论.低温中子散射产生的相,可以被看作是一个8亚晶格反铁磁体,其中长程有序矩和涨落矩共存。我们的理论给出了实现这样一个阶段的参数区域,并预测了其他几个阶段,它们之间的过渡由磁场以及温度驱动。我们发现了几个实例{ \em本地}无序参数描述的过渡。
In an ideal classical pyrochlore antiferromagnet without perturbations, an infinite degeneracy at a ground state leads to absence of a magnetic order and spin-glass transition. Here we present Na$_3$Mn(CO$_3$)$_2$Cl as a new candidate compound where classical spins are coupled antiferromagnetically on the pyrochlore lattice, and report its structural and magnetic properties.The temperature dependences of the magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity, and the magnetization curve are consistent with those of an $S$ = 5/2 pyrochlore lattice antiferromagnet with nearest-neighbor interactions of 2 …
Valence bond crystal in a pyrochlore antiferromagnet with orbital degeneracy
本文讨论了三重轨道简并$S=1/2$磁性离子的烧绿石晶格的基态。我们推导出一个有效的自旋轨道哈密顿量,并表明轨道自由度可以调制自旋交换,消除无限自旋简并烧绿石结构的特点。由此产生的状态是自旋单重态二聚体的集合,由于它们的相对取向而具有残余简并性。后者被磁弹性相互作用提升,在自旋单态相空间中诱导,迫使四重态畸变。这种理论为在B-尖晶石MgTi $_2$ O $_4$中观察到的螺旋自旋单态模式提供了解释。
We present the results of an exact diagonalization study of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a two-dimensional version of the pyrochlore lattice, also known as the square lattice with crossings or the checkerboard lattice. Examining the low energy spectra for systems of up to 24 spins, we find that all clusters studied have non-degenerate ground states with total spin zero, and big energy gaps to states with higher total spin. We also find a large number of non-magnetic excitations at energies within this spin gap. Spin-spin and spin-Peierls correlation functions appear to be short-r…
The crystal structures and magnetic properties of three previously unreported A2B2F7 pyrochlore materials, NaSrMn2F7, NaCaFe2F7, and NaSrFe2F7 are presented. In these compounds, either S=2 Fe2+ or S=5/2 Mn2+ is on the B site, while nonmagnetic Na and Ca (Na and Sr) are disordered on the A site. The materials, which were grown as crystals via the floating zone method, display high effective magnetic moments and large Curie-Weiss thetas. Despite these characteristics, freezing of the magnetic spins, characterized by peaks in the susceptibility or specific heat, is not observed until low temperat…
Frustrated quantum magnets not only provide exotic ground states and unusual magnetic structures, but also support unconventional excitations in many cases. Using a physically relevant spin model for a breathing pyrochlore lattice, we discuss the presence of topological linear band crossings of magnons in antiferromagnets. These are the analogs of Weyl fermions in electronic systems, which we dub Weyl magnons. The bulk Weyl magnon implies the presence of chiral magnon surface states forming arcs at finite energy. We argue that such antiferromagnets present a unique example in which Weyl points…
We investigate the ground-state properties of the nearest-neighbor $S=1$ pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet using two complementary numerical methods, density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) and pseudofermion functional renormalization group (PFFRG). Within DMRG, we are able to reliably study clusters with up to 48 spins by keeping 20 000 SU(2) states. The investigated 32-site and 48-site clusters both show indications of a robust $C_3$ rotation symmetry breaking of the ground-state spin correlations and the 48-site cluster additionally features inversion symmetry breaking. Our PFFRG an…
Absent pinch points and emergent clusters: further neighbour interactions in the pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet
我们讨论的起源自旋相关性中子散射实验中观察到的顺磁相的一些挫折尖晶石化合物,最显着的ZnCr 2 O 4。这些相关性令人震惊,原因有二。首先,它们被解释为弱相互作用的六边形自旋簇形成的证据。其次,它们与最近邻海森堡烧绿石反铁磁体的计算结果非常不同,其中库仑相位相关产生尖锐的散射特征,称为夹点。使用大- $n$计算和蒙特卡罗模拟,我们表明,非常弱的进一步邻居交换相互作用可以占两个明显的形成集群和抑制的夹点。
The magnetization processes of the spin-3/2 antiferromagnet LiInCr4O8 comprising a "breathing" pyrochlore lattice, which is an alternating array of small and large tetrahedra, are studied under ultrahigh magnetic fields of up to 130 T using state-of-the-art pulsed magnets. A half magnetization plateau is observed above 90 T to 130 T, suggesting that LiInCr4O8 has a strong spin-lattice coupling, similar to conventional chromium spinel oxides. The magnetization of LiGa0.125In0.875Cr4O8, in which the structural and magnetic transitions at low temperatures have been completely suppressed, shows a …