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Unlike conventional magnets where the magnetic moments are partially or completely static in the ground state, in a quantum spin liquid they remain in collective motion down to the lowest temperatures. The importance of this state is that it is coherent and highly entangled without breaking local symmetries. In the case of magnets with isotropic interactions, spin-liquid behaviour is sought in simple lattices with antiferromagnetic interactions that favour antiparallel alignments of the magnetic moments and are incompatible with the lattice geometries. Despite an extensive search, experimental realizations remain very few. Here we investigate the novel, unexplored magnet Ca 10 Cr 7 O 28 , which has a complex Hamiltonian consisting of several different isotropic interactions and where the ferromagnetic couplings are stronger than the antiferromagnetic ones. We show both experimentally and theoretically that it displays all the features expected of a quantum spin liquid. Thus spin-liquid behaviour in isotropic magnets is not restricted to the simple idealized models currently investigated, but can be compatible with complex structures and ferromagnetic interactions. A detailed and systematic study of Ca 10 Cr 7 O 28 reveals all the hallmarks of spin-liquid behaviour, in spite of the compound’s unusually complex structure.

Neutron scattering measurements on single-crystal samples of the mineral herbertsmithite, which is a spin-1/2 kagome-lattice antiferromagnet, provide evidence of fractionalized spin excitations at low temperatures, indicating that the ground state of herbertsmithite may be a quantum spin liquid. Creating a quantum spin liquid Quantum spin liquids are exotic states of matter with atomic magnetic moments that are highly correlated but resist ordering even when cooled to absolute zero. They display remarkable collective behaviour, of potential relevance for understanding high T c superconductivity, and host exotic excitations with fractional quantum numbers. On the downside, conclusive evidence for their existence is still missing. Tian-Heng Han et al . now report an exciting result from neutron scattering measurements on large single crystals of 'herbertsmithite', a two-dimensional frustrated antiferromagnet. Specifically, they observe the emergence of fractional spin excitations at low temperature, which is a hallmark signature of quantum spin liquids. Fractional spin excitations have so far only been seen in one-dimensional systems. The experimental realization of quantum spin liquids is a long-sought goal in physics, as they represent new states of matter. Quantum spin liquids cannot be described by the broken symmetries associated with conventional ground states. In fact, the interacting magnetic moments in these systems do not order, but are highly entangled with one another over long ranges 1 . Spin liquids have a prominent role in theories describing high-transition-temperature superconductors 2 , 3 , and the topological properties of these states may have applications in quantum information 4 . A key feature of spin liquids is that they support exotic spin excitations carrying fractional quantum numbers. However, detailed measurements of these ‘fractionalized excitations’ have been lacking. Here we report neutron scattering measurements on single-crystal samples of the spin-1/2 kagome-lattice antiferromagnet ZnCu 3 (OD) 6 Cl 2 (also called herbertsmithite), which provide striking evidence for this characteristic feature of spin liquids. At low temperatures, we find that the spin excitations form a continuum, in contrast to the conventional spin waves expected in ordered antiferromagnets. The observation of such a continuum is noteworthy because, so far, this signature of fractional spin excitations has been observed only in one-dimensional systems. The results also serve as a hallmark of the quantum spin-liquid state in herbertsmithite.

The quantum spin liquid is a highly entangled magnetic state characterized by the absence of static magnetism in its ground state. Instead, the spins fluctuate in a highly correlated way down to the lowest temperatures. Quantum spin liquids are very rare and are confined to a few specific cases where the interactions between the magnetic ions cannot be simultaneously satisfied (known as frustration). Lattices with magnetic ions in triangular or tetrahedral arrangements, which interact via isotropic antiferromagnetic interactions, can generate such a frustration. Three-dimensional isotropic spin liquids have mostly been sought in materials where the magnetic ions form pyrochlore or hyperkagome lattices. Here we present a three-dimensional lattice called the hyper-hyperkagome that enables spin liquid behaviour and manifests in the compound PbCuTe 2 O 6 . Using a combination of experiment and theory, we show that this system exhibits signs of being a quantum spin liquid with no detectable static magnetism together with the presence of diffuse continua in the magnetic spectrum suggestive of fractional spinon excitations. Quantum spin liquids have magnetic moments that do not form magnetic order even as the temperature approaches zero, leading to the dominance of quantum fluctuations. Chillal et al. present evidence that the hyper-hyperkagome lattice of PbCuTe 2 O 6 hosts a three-dimensional quantum spin liquid.

PbZr1−xTixO3 (PZT) and Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)1−xTixO3 (PMN-xPT) are complex lead-oxide perovskites that display exceptional piezoelectric properties for pseudorhombohedral compositions near a tetragonal phase boundary. In PZT these compositions are ferroelectrics, but in PMN-xPT they are relaxors because the dielectric permittivity is frequency dependent and exhibits non-Arrhenius behavior. We show that the nanoscale structure unique to PMN-xPT and other lead-oxide perovskite relaxors is absent in PZT and correlates with a greater than 100% enhancement of the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient in PMN-xPT relative to that in PZT. By comparing dielectric, structural, lattice dynamical, and piezoelectric measurements on PZT and PMN-xPT, two nearly identical compounds that represent weak and strong random electric field limits, we show that quenched (static) random fields establish the relaxor phase and identify the order parameter.

When charged particles in periodic lattices are subjected to a constant electric field, they respond by oscillating. Here we demonstrate that the magnetic analogue of these Bloch oscillations are realised in a ferromagnetic easy axis chain. In this case, the “particles” undergoing oscillatory motion in the presence of a magnetic field are domain walls. Inelastic neutron scattering reveals three distinct components of the low energy spin-dynamics including a signature Bloch oscillation mode. Using parameter-free theoretical calculations, we are able to account for all features in the excitation spectrum, thus providing detailed insights into the complex dynamics in spin-anisotropic chains. An electron subject to a periodic potential and a constant electric field exhibit oscillatory dynamics, known as Bloch oscillations. Here, the authors demonstrate a magnetic analogue of Bloch oscillations in a ferromagnetic near-Ising chain, where magnetic excitations oscillate in response to a magnetic field.

The temperature dependence of the low-energy magnetic excitations in the spin-triplet superconductor UTe2 was measured via inelastic neutron scattering in the normal and superconducting states. These excitations have a peak instensity at 4 meV, follow the Brillouin zone edges near the crystallographic b-axis, obey the paramagnetic structural symmetry, and track the temperature evolution of the heavy fermion bulk magnetic susceptibility. Thus, the imaginary part of the dynamic susceptibility follows the behavior of interband correlations in a hybridized Kondo lattice with an appropriate characteristic energy. These excitations are a lower-dimensional analog of phenomena observed in other Kondo lattice materials, such that their presence is not necessarily due to dominance of ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic correlations. The onset of superconductivity alters the magnetic excitations noticeably on the same energy scales, suggesting that these changes originate from additional electronic structure modification.

Quantum magnetic properties in a geometrically frustrated lattice of spin‐1/2 magnet, such as quantum spin liquid or solid and the associated spin fractionalization, are considered key in developing a new phase of matter. The feasibility of observing the quantum magnetic properties, usually found in geometrically frustrated lattice of spin‐1/2 magnet, in a perovskite material with controlled disorder is demonstrated. It is found that the controlled chemical disorder, due to the chemical substitution of Ru ions by Co‐ions, in a simple perovskite CaRuO3 creates a random prototype configuration of artificial spin‐1/2 that forms dimer pairs between the nearest and further away ions. The localization of the Co impurity in the Ru matrix is analyzed using the Anderson localization formulation. The dimers of artificial spin‐1/2, due to the localization of Co impurities, exhibit singlet‐to‐triplet excitation at low temperature without any ordered spin correlation. The localized gapped excitation evolves into a gapless quasi‐continuum as dimer pairs break and create freely fluctuating fractionalized spins at high temperature. Together, these properties hint at a new quantum magnetic state with strong resemblance to the resonance valence bond system. Quantum magnetic properties, such as resonance valence bond state, are the hallmark of the geometrically frustrated lattice of spin‐1/2. A new research paradigm is created to study analogous properties in a simple perovskite where controlled chemical disorder generates a random distribution of artificial spin‐1/2.

Emergent relativistic quasiparticles in Weyl semimetals are the source of exotic electronic properties such as surface Fermi arcs, the anomalous Hall effect and negative magnetoresistance, all observed in real materials. Whereas these phenomena highlight the effect of Weyl fermions on the electronic transport properties, less is known about what collective phenomena they may support. Here, we report a Weyl semimetal, NdAlSi, that offers an example. Using neutron diffraction, we found a long-wavelength helical magnetic order in NdAlSi, the periodicity of which is linked to the nesting vector between two topologically non-trivial Fermi pockets, which we characterize using density functional theory and quantum oscillation measurements. We further show the chiral transverse component of the spin structure is promoted by bond-oriented Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions associated with Weyl exchange processes. Our work provides a rare example of Weyl fermions driving collective magnetism. The Weyl fermions in NdAlSi mediate a helical incommensurate spin density wave, providing a rare example of Weyl-mediated collective phenomena.

We report inelastic neutron scattering experiments on single crystals of superconducting Ba 0.67 K 0.33 Fe 2 As 2 ( T c = 38 K). In addition to confirming the resonance previously found in powder samples, we find that spin excitations in the normal state form longitudinally elongated ellipses along the Q AFM direction in momentum space, consistent with density functional theory predictions. On cooling below T c , while the resonance preserves its momentum anisotropy as expected, spin excitations at energies below the resonance become essentially isotropic in the in-plane momentum space and dramatically increase their correlation length. These results suggest that the superconducting gap structures in Ba 0.67 Ka 0.33 Fe 2 As 2 are more complicated than those suggested from angle resolved photoemission experiments.

The quantum spin liquid is a highly entangled magnetic state characterized by the absence of static magnetism in its ground state. Instead, the spins fluctuate in a highly correlated way down to the lowest temperatures. Quantum spin liquids are very rare and are confined to a few specific cases where the interactions between the magnetic ions cannot be simultaneously satisfied (known as frustration). Lattices with magnetic ions in triangular or tetrahedral arrangements, which interact via isotropic antiferromagnetic interactions, can generate such a frustration. Three-dimensional isotropic spin liquids have mostly been sought in materials where the magnetic ions form pyrochlore or hyperkagome lattices. Here we present a three-dimensional lattice called the hyper-hyperkagome that enables spin liquid behaviour and manifests in the compound PbCuTe O . Using a combination of experiment and theory, we show that this system exhibits signs of being a quantum spin liquid with no detectable static magnetism together with the presence of diffuse continua in the magnetic spectrum suggestive of fractional spinon excitations.