Collective excitation continuum in the antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion system U<sub>2</sub>Zn<sub>17</sub>

ORAL

Abstract

We report the observation of a continuum of collective excitation in heavy-fermion antiferromagnet U2Zn17 from inelastic neutron scattering experiments, with no signatures of spin waves. The 13 Å near isotropic correlation length of these fluctuations implies they account for just 1% of the low-T Sommerfeld constant γ0 = 200mJ/mol/ K2 associated with heavy fermions. The magnetic excitations persist in the paramagnetic state up to 2TN and the spectrum extends beyond an energy scale of 10TN. These collective quantum fluctuations both within and beyond the ordered state of U2Zn17 are indicative of a strongly frustrated spin system ostensibly mediated by heavy fermions.

*This work was supported as part of the Institute for Quantum Matter, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under Award No. DE-SC0019331.

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Presenters

  • Yishu Wang

    • Johns Hopkins University

Authors

  • Yishu Wang

    • Johns Hopkins University

  • Hyowon Park

    • University of Illinois at Chicago
    • University of Illinois Chicago
    • Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, USA

  • Daniel M Pajerowski

    • Oak Ridge National Lab

  • Igor A Zaliznyak

    • Oak Ridge National Lab
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Brookhaven National Laboratory

  • Jiao Lin

    • Oak Ridge National Lab

  • Jose A Rodriguez

    • NIST Center for Neutron Research

  • Zachary Fisk

    • University of California, Irvine

  • Collin L Broholm

    • Johns Hopkins University
    • John Hopkins University