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Main Authors: Saatjian, Ruben, Dovrén, Simon, Yamakawa, Kohtaro, Russell, Ryan S., Analytis, James G., Harter, John W.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.03459
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author Saatjian, Ruben
Dovrén, Simon
Yamakawa, Kohtaro
Russell, Ryan S.
Analytis, James G.
Harter, John W.
author_facet Saatjian, Ruben
Dovrén, Simon
Yamakawa, Kohtaro
Russell, Ryan S.
Analytis, James G.
Harter, John W.
contents In magnetic topological insulators, spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking by intrinsic magnetic order can gap the topological surface spectrum, resulting in exotic properties like axion electrodynamics, the quantum anomalous Hall effect, and other topological magnetoelectric responses. Understanding the magnetic order and its coupling to topological states is essential to harness these properties. Here, we leverage near-resonant magnetic dipole optical second harmonic generation to probe magnetic fluctuations in the candidate axion insulator EuSn$_2$(As,P)$_2$ across its antiferromagnetic phase boundary. We observe a pronounced dimensional crossover in the quantum decoherence induced by magnetic fluctuations, whereby two-dimensional in-plane ferromagnetic correlations at high temperatures give way to three-dimensional long-range order at the Néel temperature. We also observe the breaking of rotational symmetry within the long-range-ordered antiferromagnetic state and map out the resulting spatial domain structure. More generally, we demonstrate the unique capabilities of nonlinear optical spectroscopy to study quantum coherence and fluctuations in magnetic quantum materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_03459
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum decoherence by magnetic fluctuations in a magnetic topological insulator
Saatjian, Ruben
Dovrén, Simon
Yamakawa, Kohtaro
Russell, Ryan S.
Analytis, James G.
Harter, John W.
Materials Science
Strongly Correlated Electrons
In magnetic topological insulators, spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking by intrinsic magnetic order can gap the topological surface spectrum, resulting in exotic properties like axion electrodynamics, the quantum anomalous Hall effect, and other topological magnetoelectric responses. Understanding the magnetic order and its coupling to topological states is essential to harness these properties. Here, we leverage near-resonant magnetic dipole optical second harmonic generation to probe magnetic fluctuations in the candidate axion insulator EuSn$_2$(As,P)$_2$ across its antiferromagnetic phase boundary. We observe a pronounced dimensional crossover in the quantum decoherence induced by magnetic fluctuations, whereby two-dimensional in-plane ferromagnetic correlations at high temperatures give way to three-dimensional long-range order at the Néel temperature. We also observe the breaking of rotational symmetry within the long-range-ordered antiferromagnetic state and map out the resulting spatial domain structure. More generally, we demonstrate the unique capabilities of nonlinear optical spectroscopy to study quantum coherence and fluctuations in magnetic quantum materials.
title Quantum decoherence by magnetic fluctuations in a magnetic topological insulator
topic Materials Science
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.03459