The magnitude of the magnetic exchange interaction in the heavy fermion antiferromagnet CeRhIn$_{5}$

ORAL

Abstract

The family of heavy fermion compounds Ce$T$In$_{5}$ ($T$ = Co, Rh, Ir) has been a fertile ground to explore and understand the interplay between magnetism, unconventional superconductivity and quantum criticality due to their tunability by pressure, substitution and magnetic field. CeRhIn$_{5}$ is a heavy fermion antiferromagent which can be tuned to quantum criticality under pressure. The strength of the magnetic exchange interaction, which is a key parameter to understand its complex properties, however remained unknown. We have used high-resolution neutron spectroscopy to determine the complete spin wave spectrum in CeRhIn$_{5}$. The spin wave dispersion can be quantitatively reproduced with a simple frustrated $J_1-J_2$ model that also naturally explains the magnetic spin-spiral ground state of CeRhIn$_{5}$ and yields a dominant in-plane nearest-neighbor magnetic exchange constant $J_0 = 0.74(3)$ meV. Our results pave the way to a quantitative understanding of the rich low-temperature phase diagram of the prominent Ce$T$In$_{5}$ class of heavy fermion materials.

*Work at LANL was performed under the auspices of the US DOE, OBES, MSE division and partly funded by LDRD.

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Authors

  • P. Das

    • Ames Laboratory, IA, USA; Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, USA

  • S.-Z. Lin

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, USA

  • N.J. Ghimire

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, USA

  • F. Ronning

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, USA

  • E.D. Bauer

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, USA

  • J.D. Thompson

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, USA

  • C.D. Batista

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, USA

  • M. Janoschek

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, USA

  • K. Huang

    • University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

  • G. Ehlers

    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, USA