Specific heat measurements of Ce<sub>2</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub> in magnetic field

POSTER

Abstract

We measured specific heat of the pyrochlore Ce2Zr2O7 in magnetic field up to 14 T and temperatures down to 60 mK. In zero field we observe a monotonic rise of the specific heat, with the values of C/T reaching 30 J/mol-K at 100 mK, and without saturation, at least in some compounds. The field was applied in either [100] or [110] directions. Even small magnetic field on the order of a kilogauss pushes the entropy up in temperature, developing a broad maximum in C(T), which moves up in temperature with increasing magnetic field. The calculated entropy is consistent with a doublet ground state. Extreme sensitivity to small magnetic field is consistent with a disordered zero-field ground state, with entropy piling up towards T=0, indicating a possible spin-liquid.

*We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Measurements at LANL were supported by the US DOE, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering.

Presenters

  • Roman Movshovich

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory
    • Condensed Matter and Magnet Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Authors

  • Roman Movshovich

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory
    • Condensed Matter and Magnet Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Andrea Bianchi

    • Département de physique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 3J7, Canada
    • Universite de Montreal

  • Jérémie Dudemain

    • Département de physique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, H3T 3J7, Canada
    • Universite de Montreal

  • Michael Nicklas

    • Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids
    • Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, Nöthnitzer Str. 40 D-01187 Dresden, Germany

  • Evan Smith

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1
    • McMaster University
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University
    • Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University

  • Bruce Gaulin

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University
    • McMaster University
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1
    • Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University

  • Jonathan Gaudet

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University
    • Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, Institute for Quantum Matter and Department of Physics and Astronomy
    • Johns Hopkins University
    • Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University
    • IQM, Johns Hopkins University