IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v3y2012i1d10.1038_ncomms1989.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Higgs transition from a magnetic Coulomb liquid to a ferromagnet in Yb2Ti2O7

Author

Listed:
  • Lieh-Jeng Chang

    (National Cheng Kung University
    Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency)

  • Shigeki Onoda

    (Condensed Matter Theory Laboratory, RIKEN)

  • Yixi Su

    (Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS-FRM II, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Outstation at FRM II, Lichtenbergstrasse 1, D-85747 Garching, Germany.)

  • Ying-Jer Kao

    (National Taiwan University)

  • Ku-Ding Tsuei

    (National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center)

  • Yukio Yasui

    (Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
    Meiji University)

  • Kazuhisa Kakurai

    (Quantum Beam Science Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency)

  • Martin Richard Lees

    (University of Warwick)

Abstract

In a class of frustrated magnets known as spin ice, magnetic monopoles emerge as classical defects and interact via the magnetic Coulomb law. With quantum-mechanical interactions, these magnetic charges are carried by fractionalized bosonic quasi-particles, spinons, which can undergo Bose–Einstein condensation through a first-order transition via the Higgs mechanism. Here, we report evidence of a Higgs transition from a magnetic Coulomb liquid to a ferromagnet in single-crystal Yb2Ti2O7. Polarized neutron scattering experiments show that the diffuse [111]-rod scattering and pinch-point features, which develop on cooling are suddenly suppressed below TC~0.21 K, where magnetic Bragg peaks and a full depolarization of the neutron spins are observed with thermal hysteresis, indicating a first-order ferromagnetic transition. Our results are explained on the basis of a quantum spin-ice model, whose high-temperature phase is effectively described as a magnetic Coulomb liquid, whereas the ground state shows a nearly collinear ferromagnetism with gapped spin excitations.

Suggested Citation

  • Lieh-Jeng Chang & Shigeki Onoda & Yixi Su & Ying-Jer Kao & Ku-Ding Tsuei & Yukio Yasui & Kazuhisa Kakurai & Martin Richard Lees, 2012. "Higgs transition from a magnetic Coulomb liquid to a ferromagnet in Yb2Ti2O7," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 1-7, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:3:y:2012:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms1989
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1989
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1989
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/ncomms1989?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:3:y:2012:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms1989. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.