Ground state and excitation properties of the quantum kagom{e} system ZnCu$_{3}$(OH)$_{6}$Cl$_{2}$ investigated by local probes


Abstract in English

We characterize the ground state and excitation spectrum of the $S=1/2$, nominally pure and perfect kagom{e} system ZnCu$_{3}$(OH)$_{6}$Cl$_{2}$ using the following measurements: magnetization, muon spin rotation frequency shift $K$, transverse relaxation time $T_{2}^{ast}$, and zero field relaxation, and Cl nuclear spin-lattice relaxation $T_{1}$. We found no sign of singlet formation, no long range order or spin freezing, and no sign of spin-Peierls transition even at temperatures as low as 60 mK. The density of states has $E^{1/4}$ energy dependence with a negligible gap to excitation.

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