Identifying Universal Spin Excitations in Spin-1/2 Kagome Quantum Spin Liquid Materials

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Breidenbach, Aaron T., Campello, Arthur C., Wen, Jiajia, Jiang, Hong-Chen, Pajerowski, Daniel M., Smaha, Rebecca W., Lee, Young S.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Breidenbach, Aaron T.
Campello, Arthur C.
Wen, Jiajia
Jiang, Hong-Chen
Pajerowski, Daniel M.
Smaha, Rebecca W.
Lee, Young S.
author_facet Breidenbach, Aaron T.
Campello, Arthur C.
Wen, Jiajia
Jiang, Hong-Chen
Pajerowski, Daniel M.
Smaha, Rebecca W.
Lee, Young S.
contents A quantum spin liquid (QSL) is an exotic quantum state of matter characterized by fluctuating spins which may exhibit long-range entanglement. Among the possible host candidates for a QSL ground state, the $S$=1/2 kagome lattice antiferromagnet is particularly promising. Using high resolution inelastic neutron scattering measurements on Zn-barlowite (Zn$_\mathrm{x}$Cu$_\mathrm{4-x}$(OD)$_\mathrm{6}$FBr, $x\simeq 0.80$), we measure a spin excitation spectrum consistent with a QSL ground state. Continuum scattering above $\sim$1 meV matches that of herbertsmithite (Zn$_\mathrm{x}$Cu$_\mathrm{4-x}$(OD)$_6$Cl$_2$, $x\simeq 0.85$), another prominent kagome QSL material, indicating universal spinon excitations. A detailed analysis of the spin-spin correlations, compared with density matrix renormalization group calculations, further indicate a QSL ground state for the physically relevant Hamiltonian parameters. The measured spectra in Zn-barlowite are consistent with gapped behavior with a gap size $Δ= 1.1(2)$ meV. Comparison with a simple pair correlation model allows us to clearly distinguish intrinsic kagome correlations from impurity-induced correlations. Our results clarify the behavior that is universal within this important family of QSL candidate materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_06491
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Identifying Universal Spin Excitations in Spin-1/2 Kagome Quantum Spin Liquid Materials
Breidenbach, Aaron T.
Campello, Arthur C.
Wen, Jiajia
Jiang, Hong-Chen
Pajerowski, Daniel M.
Smaha, Rebecca W.
Lee, Young S.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
A quantum spin liquid (QSL) is an exotic quantum state of matter characterized by fluctuating spins which may exhibit long-range entanglement. Among the possible host candidates for a QSL ground state, the $S$=1/2 kagome lattice antiferromagnet is particularly promising. Using high resolution inelastic neutron scattering measurements on Zn-barlowite (Zn$_\mathrm{x}$Cu$_\mathrm{4-x}$(OD)$_\mathrm{6}$FBr, $x\simeq 0.80$), we measure a spin excitation spectrum consistent with a QSL ground state. Continuum scattering above $\sim$1 meV matches that of herbertsmithite (Zn$_\mathrm{x}$Cu$_\mathrm{4-x}$(OD)$_6$Cl$_2$, $x\simeq 0.85$), another prominent kagome QSL material, indicating universal spinon excitations. A detailed analysis of the spin-spin correlations, compared with density matrix renormalization group calculations, further indicate a QSL ground state for the physically relevant Hamiltonian parameters. The measured spectra in Zn-barlowite are consistent with gapped behavior with a gap size $Δ= 1.1(2)$ meV. Comparison with a simple pair correlation model allows us to clearly distinguish intrinsic kagome correlations from impurity-induced correlations. Our results clarify the behavior that is universal within this important family of QSL candidate materials.
title Identifying Universal Spin Excitations in Spin-1/2 Kagome Quantum Spin Liquid Materials
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.06491