Field-Induced Instability of a Gapless Spin Liquid with a Spinon Fermi Surface.
Phys Rev Lett
; 119(13): 137205, 2017 Sep 29.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29341713
ABSTRACT
The ground state of the quantum kagome antiferromagnet Zn-brochantite, ZnCu_{3}(OH)_{6}SO_{4}, which is one of only a few known spin-liquid (SL) realizations in two or three dimensions, has been described as a gapless SL with a spinon Fermi surface. Employing nuclear magnetic resonance in a broad magnetic-field range down to millikelvin temperatures, we show that in applied magnetic fields this enigmatic state is intrinsically unstable against a SL with a full or a partial gap. A similar instability of the gapless Fermi-surface SL was previously encountered in an organic triangular-lattice antiferromagnet, suggesting a common destabilization mechanism that most likely arises from spinon pairing. A salient property of this instability is that an infinitesimal field suffices to induce it, as predicted theoretically for some other types of gapless SLs.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Phys Rev Lett
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Eslovênia