Magnetization plateau observed by ultrahigh-field Faraday rotation in the kagome antiferromagnet herbertsmithite

Article

关键词: LIQUID GROUND-STATE;    LATTICE;    ORDER;   

DOI  :  10.1103/PhysRevB.102.104429

来源: SCIE

【 摘 要 】

To capture the high-field magnetization process of herbertsmithite [ZnCu3 (OH)(6)Cl-2], Faraday rotation (FR) measurements were carried out on a single crystal in magnetic fields of up to 190 T. The magnetization data evaluated from the FR angle exhibited a saturation behavior above 150 T at low temperatures, which was attributed to the 1/3 magnetization plateau. The overall behavior of the magnetization process was reproduced by theoretical models based on the nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model. This suggests that herbertsmithite is a proximate kagome antiferromagnet hosting an ideal quantum spin liquid in the ground state. A distinguishing feature is the superlinear magnetization increase, which is in contrast to the Brillouin function-type increase observed by conventional magnetization measurements and indicates a reduced contribution from free spins located at the Zn sites to the FR signal.

【 授权许可】

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