Unconventional spin dynamics in the honeycomb-lattice material α-RuCl3 : High-field electron spin resonance studies

Ponomaryov, A. N.; Schulze, E.; Wosnitza, J.; Lampen-Kelley, P.; Banerjee, A.; Yan, J. -Q.; Bridges, C. A.; Mandrus, D. G.; Nagler, S. E.; Kolezhuk, A. K.; Zvyagin, S. A.

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.96.241107

Title: Unconventional spin dynamics in the honeycomb-lattice material $α - {RuCl}_{3}$ : High-field electron spin resonance studies

Journal Article · Tue Dec 19 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Physical Review B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.241107· OSTI ID:1414677

Ponomaryov, A. N. ^[1]; Schulze, E. ^[2]; Wosnitza, J. ^[2]; Lampen-Kelley, P. ^[3]; Banerjee, A. ^[4]; Yan, J. -Q. ^[5]; Bridges, C. A. ^[6]; Mandrus, D. G. ^[5]; Nagler, S. E. ^[4]; Kolezhuk, A. K. ^[7]; Zvyagin, S. A. ^[1]

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), (Germany). Dresden High Magnetic Field Lab. (HLD-EMFL)
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), (Germany). Dresden High Magnetic Field Lab. (HLD-EMFL); Technical Univ. of Dresden (Germany). Inst. of Solid State and Material Physics
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Quantum of Materials Science and Engineering
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical Science Division
Taras Shevchenko National Univ., Kyiv (Ukraine). Inst. of High Technologies; National Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Kyiv (Ukraine). Inst. of Magnetism

Here, we present high-field electron spin resonance (ESR) studies of the honeycomb-lattice material α-RuCl₃, a prime candidate to exhibit Kitaev physics. Two modes of antiferromagnetic resonance were detected in the zigzag ordered phase, with magnetic field applied in the a b plane. A very rich excitation spectrum was observed in the field-induced quantum paramagnetic phase. We compare the data obtained with the results of recent numerical calculations, strongly suggesting a very unconventional multiparticle character of the spin dynamics in α-RuCl₃. Finally, the frequency-field diagram of the lowest-energy ESR mode is found consistent with the behavior of the field-induced energy gap, revealed by thermodynamic measurements.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1414677

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1414037

Journal Information:: Physical Review B, Vol. 96, Issue 24; ISSN 2469-9950

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 49 works

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Concept and realization of Kitaev quantum spin liquids Takagi, Hidenori; Takayama, Tomohiro; Jackeli, George Nature Reviews Physics, Vol. 1, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-019-0038-2	journal	March 2019
Kitaev honeycomb models in magnetic fields: Dynamical response and dual models Kaib, David A. S.; Winter, Stephen M.; Valentí, Roser Physical Review B, Vol. 100, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.100.144445	journal	October 2019
Two-step gap opening across the quantum critical point in the Kitaev honeycomb magnet $α − {RuCl}_{3}$ Nagai, Yuya; Jinno, Takaaki; Yoshitake, Junki Physical Review B, Vol. 101, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.101.020414	journal	January 2020
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Dynamical and Topological Properties of the Kitaev Model in a [111] Magnetic Field Gohlke, Matthias; Moessner, Roderich; Pollmann, Frank arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1804.06811	text	January 2018
Successive Majorana Topological Transitions Driven by a Magnetic Field in the Kitaev Model Nasu, Joji; Kato, Yasuyuki; Kamiya, Yoshitomo arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1805.02423	text	January 2018
Two-step gap opening across the quantum critical point in a Kitaev honeycomb magnet Nagai, Y.; Jinno, T.; Yoshitake, Y. arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1810.05379	text	January 2018