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Register a new userReinvestigation of the homogeneous spin model in YbMgGaO$_4$
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Shaozhi Li
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Motivated by a recent inelastic neutron scattering experiment on $mathrm{YbMgGaO}_4$ cite{William2019}, we reinvestigate the homogeneous spin model on the triangular lattice. Using the cluster mean-field theory, we study the phase diagram and the magnetic-field-induced phase transition. We find that the phase boundary between the stripe state and the $120^{circ}$ antiferromagnetic state is broadened by the magnetic field, leading to a field-induced phase transition. This phase transition is suppressed by the next-nearest neighbor exchange interaction $J_2/J_1$ and vanishes as $J_2/J_1>0.13$. We find a parameter space at $J_2/J_1=0.1$, in which the field-induce transition can be achieved and the deviation of theoretical spin excitation energies from experimental data is only $5.4%$. Our results imply that an effective homogeneous spin model still works in $mathrm{YbMgGaO}_4$.
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Single-crystal x-ray diffraction, density-functional band-structure calculations, and muon spin relaxation ($mu$SR) are used to probe pressure evolution of the triangular spin-liquid candidate YbMgGaO$_4$. The rhombohedral crystal structure is retained up to at least 10 GPa and shows a nearly uniform compression along both in-plane and out-of-plane directions, whereas local distortions caused by the random distribution of Mg$^{2+}$ and Ga$^{3+}$ remain mostly unchanged. The $mu$SR data confirm persistent spin dynamics up to 2.6 GPa and down to 250 mK with no change in the muon relaxation rate. Longitudinal-field $mu$SR reveals power-law behavior of the spin-spin autocorrelation function, both at ambient pressure and upon compression.
We apply moderate-high-energy inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements to investigate Yb$^{3+}$ crystalline electric field (CEF) levels in the triangular spin-liquid candidate YbMgGaO$_4$. Three CEF excitations from the ground-state Kramers doublet are centered at the energies $hbar omega$ = 39, 61, and 97,meV in agreement with the effective mbox{spin-1/2} $g$-factors and experimental heat capacity, but reveal sizable broadening. We argue that this broadening originates from the site mixing between Mg$^{2+}$ and Ga$^{3+}$ giving rise to a distribution of Yb--O distances and orientations and, thus, of CEF parameters that account for the peculiar energy profile of the CEF excitations. The CEF randomness gives rise to a distribution of the effective spin-1/2 $g$-factors and explains the unprecedented broadening of low-energy magnetic excitations in the fully polarized ferromagnetic phase of YbMgGaO$_4$, although a distribution of magnetic couplings due to the Mg/Ga disorder may be important as well.
Quantum spin liquid (QSL) is a novel state of matter which refuses the conventional spin freezing even at 0 K. Experimentally searching for the structurally perfect candidates is a big challenge in condensed matter physics. Here we report the successful synthesis of a new spin-1/2 triangular antiferromagnet YbMgGaO$_4$ with R$bar{3}$m symmetry. The compound with an ideal two-dimensional and spatial isotropic magnetic triangular-lattice has no site-mixing magnetic defects and no antisymmetric Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya (DM) interactions. No spin freezing down to 60 mK (despite $Theta$$_w$ $sim$ -4 K), the low-T power-law temperature dependence of heat capacity and nonzero susceptibility suggest that YbMgGaO$_4$ is a promising gapless ($leq$ $|$$Theta$$_w$$|$/100) QSL candidate. The residual spin entropy, which is accurately determined with a non-magnetic reference LuMgGaO$_4$, approaches zero ($<$ 0.6 %). This indicates that the possible QSL ground state (GS) of the frustrated spin system has been experimentally achieved at the lowest measurement temperatures.
We report magnetization, heat capacity, thermal expansion, and magnetostriction measurements down to millikelvin temperatures on the triangular antiferromagnet YbMgGaO$_4$. Our data exclude the formation of the distinct $frac13$ plateau phase observed in other triangular antiferromagnets, but reveal plateaulike features in second derivatives of the free energy, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat, at $mu_0H$ = 1.0 - 2.5 T for $Hparallel{}c$ and 2 - 5 T for $Hperp{}c$. Using Monte-Carlo simulations of a realistic spin Hamiltonian, we ascribe these features to nonmonotonic changes in the magnetization and the $frac12$ plateau that is smeared out by the random distribution of exchange couplings in YbMgGaO$_4$.
The spin-1/2 triangular lattice antiferromagnet YbMgGaO$_{4}$ has attracted recent attention as a quantum spin-liquid candidate with the possible presence of off-diagonal anisotropic exchange interactions induced by spin-orbit coupling. Whether a quantum spin-liquid is stabilized or not depends on the interplay of various exchange interactions with chemical disorder that is inherent to the layered structure of the compound. We combine time-domain terahertz spectroscopy and inelastic neutron scattering measurements in the field polarized state of YbMgGaO$_{4}$ to obtain better microscopic insights on its exchange interactions. Terahertz spectroscopy in this fashion functions as high-field electron spin resonance and probes the spin-wave excitations at the Brillouin zone center, ideally complementing neutron scattering. A global spin-wave fit to all our spectroscopic data at fields over 4T, informed by the analysis of the terahertz spectroscopy linewidths, yields stringent constraints on $g$-factors and exchange interactions. Our results paint YbMgGaO$_{4}$ as an easy-plane XXZ antiferromagnet with the combined and necessary presence of sub-leading next-nearest neighbor and weak anisotropic off-diagonal nearest-neighbor interactions. Moreover, the obtained $g$-factors are substantially different from previous reports. This works establishes the hierarchy of exchange interactions in YbMgGaO$_{4}$ from high-field data alone and thus strongly constrains possible mechanisms responsible for the observed spin-liquid phenomenology.
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