Quantum Ice : Experimental Signatures

ORAL

Abstract

``Quantum Spin Ice'' materials have attracted considerable attention as three-dimensional examples of quantum spin liquids. Recently, we have used zero-temperature Quantum Monte Carlo simulation to explore one possible scenario for these materials, confirming the possibility of a ``quantum ice'' state driven by quantum tunnelling between an extensive number of different spin-ice configurations [1]. Here we address the simple question : what would such a quantum ice look like in experiment ? We focus in particular on the fate of ``pinch point'' singularities seen in neutron scattering experiments on spin ice materials, showing how these are suppressed and ultimately eliminated as the system is cooled to its ground state [1,2]. \\[4pt] [1] N. Shannon et al., arXiv:1105.4196\\[0pt] [2] O. Benton et al., in preparation.

Authors

  • Nic Shannon

    • Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan 904-0495
  • Owen Benton

    • H H Wills Physics, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TL, UK
  • Olga Sikora

    • H H Wills Physics, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TL, UK; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Okinawa, Japan 904-0495
  • Karlo Penc

    • Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, H-1525, Budapest, Hungary
  • Paul McClarty

    • Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
  • Frank Pollmann

    • Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
  • Roderich Moessner

    • Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
  • Peter Fulde

    • Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany; Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics, Pohang, Korea