Thermodynamics of the dipole-octupole pyrochlore magnet Ce$_2$Hf$_2$O$_{7}$ in applied magnetic fields

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Bhardwaj, Anish, Porée, Victor, Yan, Han, Gauthier, Nicolas, Lhotel, Elsa, Petit, Sylvain, Quilliam, Jeffrey A., Nevidomskyy, Andriy H., Sibille, Romain, Changlani, Hitesh J.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Bhardwaj, Anish
Porée, Victor
Yan, Han
Gauthier, Nicolas
Lhotel, Elsa
Petit, Sylvain
Quilliam, Jeffrey A.
Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.
Sibille, Romain
Changlani, Hitesh J.
author_facet Bhardwaj, Anish
Porée, Victor
Yan, Han
Gauthier, Nicolas
Lhotel, Elsa
Petit, Sylvain
Quilliam, Jeffrey A.
Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.
Sibille, Romain
Changlani, Hitesh J.
contents The recently discovered dipole-octupole pyrochlore magnet Ce$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$ is a promising three-dimensional quantum spin liquid candidate which shows no signs of ordering at low temperature. The low energy effective pseudospin-1/2 description in a magnetic field is characterized by the XYZ Hamiltonian and a Zeeman term where the dipolar local $z$-component of the pseudospin couples to the local $z$-component of the applied magnetic field, while the local $x$- and $y$-components of the pseudospin remain decoupled as a consequence of their octupolar character. Using effective Hamiltonian parameters determined in V. Poree et al., arXiv:2305.08261 (2023), remarkable experimental features can be reproduced, as for instance the specific heat and magnetization data as well as the continuum of states seen in neutron scattering. Here we investigate the thermodynamic response to magnetic fields applied along the global [110] direction using specific heat measurements and fits using numerical methods, and solve the corresponding magnetic structure using neutron diffraction. Specific heat data in moderate fields are reproduced well, however, at high fields the agreement is not satisfactory. We especially observe a two-step release of entropy, a finding that demands a review of both theory and experiment. We address it within the framework of three possible scenarios, including an analysis of the crystal field Hamiltonian not restricted to the two-dimensional single-ion doublet subspace. We conclusively rule out two of these scenarios and find qualitative agreement with a simple model of field misalignment with respect to the crystalline direction. We discuss the implications of our findings for [111] applied fields and for future experiments on Ce$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$ and its sister compounds.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_08723
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Thermodynamics of the dipole-octupole pyrochlore magnet Ce$_2$Hf$_2$O$_{7}$ in applied magnetic fields
Bhardwaj, Anish
Porée, Victor
Yan, Han
Gauthier, Nicolas
Lhotel, Elsa
Petit, Sylvain
Quilliam, Jeffrey A.
Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.
Sibille, Romain
Changlani, Hitesh J.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
The recently discovered dipole-octupole pyrochlore magnet Ce$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$ is a promising three-dimensional quantum spin liquid candidate which shows no signs of ordering at low temperature. The low energy effective pseudospin-1/2 description in a magnetic field is characterized by the XYZ Hamiltonian and a Zeeman term where the dipolar local $z$-component of the pseudospin couples to the local $z$-component of the applied magnetic field, while the local $x$- and $y$-components of the pseudospin remain decoupled as a consequence of their octupolar character. Using effective Hamiltonian parameters determined in V. Poree et al., arXiv:2305.08261 (2023), remarkable experimental features can be reproduced, as for instance the specific heat and magnetization data as well as the continuum of states seen in neutron scattering. Here we investigate the thermodynamic response to magnetic fields applied along the global [110] direction using specific heat measurements and fits using numerical methods, and solve the corresponding magnetic structure using neutron diffraction. Specific heat data in moderate fields are reproduced well, however, at high fields the agreement is not satisfactory. We especially observe a two-step release of entropy, a finding that demands a review of both theory and experiment. We address it within the framework of three possible scenarios, including an analysis of the crystal field Hamiltonian not restricted to the two-dimensional single-ion doublet subspace. We conclusively rule out two of these scenarios and find qualitative agreement with a simple model of field misalignment with respect to the crystalline direction. We discuss the implications of our findings for [111] applied fields and for future experiments on Ce$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$ and its sister compounds.
title Thermodynamics of the dipole-octupole pyrochlore magnet Ce$_2$Hf$_2$O$_{7}$ in applied magnetic fields
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.08723