Abstract
In quantum magnets, magnetic moments fluctuate heavily and are strongly entangled with each other, a fundamental distinction from classical magnetism. Here, with inelastic neutron scattering measurements, we probe the spin correlations of the honeycomb lattice quantum magnet YbCl3. A linear spin wave theory with a single Heisenberg interaction on the honeycomb lattice, including both transverse and longitudinal channels of the neutron response, reproduces all of the key features in the spectrum. In particular, we identify a Van Hove singularity, a clearly observable sharp feature within a continuum response. The demonstration of such a Van Hove singularity in a two-magnon continuum is important as a confirmation of broadly held notions of continua in quantum magnetism and additionally because analogous features in two-spinon continua could be used to distinguish quantum spin liquids from merely disordered systems. These results establish YbCl3 as a benchmark material for quantum magnetism on the honeycomb lattice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 171 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2021 |
Funding
We thank C.D. Batista, N.B. Perkins, and S. Do for useful discussions. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. This research used resources at the Spallation Neutron Source and the High Flux Isotope Reactor, a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The research by P.L. and S.O. was supported by the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Advanced Scientific Computing Research and Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering. This research used resources of the Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. G.P. was partially supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s EPiQS Initiative through Grant GBMF4416. The work of G.B.H. was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of Energy. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).