We present present a quantitative experimental investigation of the scalar chiral magnetic order with in $rm{Nd_3Sb_3Mg_2O_{14}}$. Static magnetization reveals a net ferromagnetic ground state, and inelastic neutron scattering from the hyperfine coupled nuclear spin reveals a local ordered moment of 1.76(6) $mu_B$, just 61(2)% of the saturated moment size. The experiments exclude static disorder as the source of the reduced moment. A 38(1) $mu$eV gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum inferred from heat capacity rules out thermal fluctuations and suggests a multipolar explanation for the moment reduction. We compare $rm{Nd_3Sb_3Mg_2O_{14}}$ to Nd pyrochlores and show that it is close to a moment fragmented state.
The Kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet is mapped onto an effective Hamiltonian on the star superlattice by Contractor Renormalization. Comparison of ground state energies on large lattices to Density Matrix Renormalization Group justifies truncation of effective interactions at range 3. Within our accuracy, magnetic and translational symmetries are not broken (i.e. a spin liquid ground state). However, we discover doublet spectral degeneracies which signal the onset of p6 - chirality symmetry breaking. This is understood by simple mean field analysis. Experimentally, the p6 chiral order parameter should split the optical phonons degeneracy near the zone center. Addition of weak next to nearest neighbor coupling is discussed.
The topological quantum spin liquids (SL) and the nature of quantum phase transitions between them have attracted intensive attentions for the past twenty years. The extended kagome spin-1/2 antiferromagnet emerges as the primary candidate for hosting both time reversal symmetry (TRS) preserving and TRS breaking SLs based on density matrix renormalization group simulations. To uncover the nature of the novel quantum phase transition between the SL states, we study a minimum XY model with the nearest neighbor (NN) ($J_{xy}$), the second and third NN couplings ($J_{2xy}=J_{3xy}=J_{xy}$). We identify the TRS broken chiral SL (CSL) with the turn on of a small perturbation $J_{xy}sim 0.06 J_{xy}$, which is fully characterized by the fractionally quantized topological Chern number and the conformal edge spectrum as the $ u=1/2$ fractional quantum Hall state. On the other hand, the NN XY model ($J_{xy}=0$) is shown to be a critical SL state adjacent to the CSL, characterized by the gapless spin singlet excitations and also vanishing small spin triplet excitations. The quantum phase transition from the CSL to the gapless critical SL is driven by the collapsing of the neutral (spin singlet) excitation gap. By following the evolution of entanglement spectrum, we find that the transition takes place through the coupling of the edge states with opposite chiralities, which merge into the bulk and become gapless neutral excitations. The effect of the NN spin-$z$ coupling $J_z$ is also studied, which leads to a quantum phase diagram with an extended regime for the gapless SL.
We introduce $mathrm{Nd_{3}Sb_{3}Mg_{2}O_{14}}$ with ideal kagome lattices of neodymium ions in ABC stacking. Thermodynamic measurements show a Curie-Weiss temperature of $Theta_{CW}=-0.12~$K, a Nd$^{3+}$ spin-1/2 Kramers doublet ground state, and a second order phase transition at $T_N=0.56(2)~$K. Neutron scattering reveals non-coplanar scalar chiral ${bf k} =0$ magnetic order with a correlation length exceeding 400 AA = 55 $a$ and an ordered moment of $1.79(5)~mu_B$. This order includes a canted ferromagnetic component perpendicular to the kagome planes favored by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions.
The quantum spin liquid material herbertsmithite is described by an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice with non-negligible Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction~(DMI). A well established phase transition to the $mathbf q=0$ long-range order occurs in this model when the DMI strength increases, but the precise nature of a small-DMI phase remains controversial. Here, we describe a new phase obtained from Schwinger-boson mean-field theory that is stable at small DMI, and which can explain the dispersionless spectrum seen in inelastic neutron scattering experiment by Han et al (Nature (London) 492, 406 (2012)}). It is a time-reversal symmetry breaking $mathbb Z_2$ spin liquid, with the unique property of a small and constant spin gap in an extended region of the Brillouin zone. The phase diagram as a function of DMI and spin size is given, and dynamical spin structure factors are presented.
Averievite, Cu$_5$V$_2$O$_{10}$(CsCl), is an oxide mineral composed of Cu$^{2+}$ kagome layers sandwiched by Cu$^{2+}$-V$^{5+}$ honeycomb layers. We have synthesized this oxide and investigated its properties from ab initio calculations along with susceptibility and specific heat measurements. The data indicate a Curie-Weiss temperature of 185 K as well as long-range magnetic order at 24 K due to the significant interlayer coupling from the honeycomb copper ions. This order is suppressed by substituting these coppers by isoelectronic zinc, suggesting that Zn-substituted averievite is a promising spin liquid candidate. A further proposed substitution that replaces V$^{5+}$ by Ti$^{4+}$ not only dopes the material, but is predicted to give rise to a two-dimensional electronic structure featuring Dirac crossings. As such, averievite is an attractive platform for S=1/2 kagome physics with the potential for realizing novel electronic states.