They found spin liquid behavior in 3D, due to a so-called hyper hyperkagome lattice. The experimental data fit extremely well to theoretical simulations also done at HZB.
Quantum spin liquids: a rare phenomenon
Quantum spin liquids are rare and have so far been found mainly in two-dimensional magnetic systems. Three-dimensional isotropic spin liquids are mostly sought in materials where the magnetic ions form pyrochlore or hyperkagome lattices. An international team led by HZB physicist Prof. Bella Lake has now investigated samples of PbCuTe2O6, which has a three-dimensional lattice called hyper-hyperkagome lattice.
Magnetic interactions simulated
HZB physicist Prof. Johannes Reuther calculated the behavior of such a three-dimensional hyper-hyperkagome lattice with four magnetic interactions and showed that the system exhibits quantum-spin liquid behavior with a specific magnetic energy spectrum.
Experiments at neutron sources find 3D quantum spin liquid
With neutron experiments at ISIS, UK, ILL, France and NIST, USA the team was able to prove the very subtle signals of this predicted behavior. “We were surprised how well our data fit into the calculations. This gives us hope that we can really understand what happens in these systems,” explains first author Dr. Shravani Chillal, HZB. Reference: “Evidence for a three-dimensional quantum spin liquid in PbCuTe2O6” by Shravani Chillal, Yasir Iqbal, Harald O. Jeschke, Jose A. Rodriguez-Rivera, Robert Bewley, Pascal Manuel, Dmitry Khalyavin, Paul Steffens, Ronny Thomale, A. T. M. Nazmul Islam, Johannes Reuther and Bella Lake, 11 May 2020, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15594-1
