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Title: A quantum liquid of magnetic octupoles on the pyrochlore lattice

Journal Article · · Nature Physics
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [4]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [5];  [5]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [4];  [4];  [1]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
  2. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science (SIMES)
  3. Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble (France)
  4. Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), Oxford (United Kingdom). Rutherford Appleton Lab. (RAL)
  5. Inst. Laue-Langevin (ILL), Grenoble (France)
  6. Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

Spin liquids are highly correlated yet disordered states formed by the entanglement of magnetic dipoles. Theories define such states using gauge fields and deconfined quasiparticle excitations that emerge from a local constraint governing the ground state of a frustrated magnet. For example, the ‘2-in–2-out’ ice rule for dipole moments on a tetrahedron can lead to a quantum spin ice in rare-earth pyrochlores. However, $$f$$-electron ions often carry multipole degrees of freedom of higher rank than dipoles, leading to intriguing behaviours and ‘hidden’ orders. In this paper we show that the correlated ground state of a Ce3+-based pyrochlore, Ce2Sn2O7, is a quantum liquid of magnetic octupoles. Our neutron scattering results are consistent with a fluid-like state where degrees of freedom have a more complex magnetization density than that of magnetic dipoles. The nature and strength of the octupole–octupole couplings, together with the existence of a continuum of excitations attributed to spinons, provides further evidence for a quantum ice of octupoles governed by a ‘2-plus–2-minus’ rule. Our work identifies Ce2Sn2O7 as a unique example of frustrated multipoles forming a ‘hidden’ topological order, thus generalizing observations on quantum spin liquids to multipolar phases that can support novel types of emergent fields and excitations.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515; 200021_179150
OSTI ID:
1616962
Journal Information:
Nature Physics, Vol. 16, Issue 5; ISSN 1745-2473
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group (NPG)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 36 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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