Scale-Free Antiferromagnetic Fluctuations in theKagome Antiferromagnet Herbertsmithite
- 2 December 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 103 (23), 237201
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.103.237201
Abstract
Neutron spectroscopy and diffuse neutron scattering on herbertsmithite [], a near-ideal realization of the kagome antiferromagnet, reveal the hallmark property of a quantum spin liquid: instantaneous short-ranged antiferromagnetic correlations in the absence of a time-averaged ordered moment. These dynamic antiferromagnetic correlations are weakly dependent of neutron-energy transfer and temperature, and persist up to 25 meV and 120 K. At low energy transfers a shift of the magnetic scattering to low is observed with increasing temperature, providing evidence of gapless spinons. It is argued that these observations provide important evidence in favor of resonating-valence-bond theories of (doped) Mott insulators.
Keywords
Other Versions
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- Properties of an algebraic spin liquid on the kagome latticePhysical Review B, 2008
- From high temperature superconductivity to quantum spin liquid: progress in strong correlation physicsReports on Progress in Physics, 2007
- Magnetic susceptibility and specific heat of the spin- ${\frac{1}{2}}$ Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice and experimental data on ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2Zeitschrift für Physik B Condensed Matter, 2007
- Projected-Wave-Function Study of the Spin-Heisenberg Model on the Kagomé LatticePhysical Review Letters, 2007
- Algebraic spin liquid as the mother of many competing ordersPhysical Review B, 2005
- Spin folding in the two-dimensional HeisenbergkagoméantiferromagnetPhysical Review B, 1993
- Ground-state disorder in the spin-1/2kagoméHeisenberg antiferromagnetPhysical Review B, 1992
- Mean-field approach to magnetic ordering in highly frustrated pyrochloresPhysical Review B, 1991
- Large-nlimit of the Heisenberg-Hubbard model: Implications for high-superconductorsPhysical Review B, 1988
- The Resonating Valence Bond State in La 2 CuO 4 and SuperconductivityScience, 1987