Neutron Spectroscopy Evidence for a Possible Magnetic-Field-Induced Gapless Quantum-Spin-Liquid Phase in a Kitaev Material α-RuCl3

As one of the most promising Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid（QSL） candidates,α-RuCl₃ has received a great deal of attention.However,its ground state exhibits a long-range zigzag magnetic order,which defies the QSL phase.Nevertheless,the magnetic order is fragile and can be completely suppressed by applying an external magnetic field.Here,we explore the evolution of magnetic excitations of α-RuCl₃ under an in-plane magnetic field,by carrying out inelastic neutron scattering measu...     

通往量子自旋液体的新路径——Kitaev模型的材料实现

Kitaev模型是一种建立在二维六角蜂窝状格子上的有效自旋为1/2的量子自旋液体模型。该模型可严格求解,具有拓扑序,分数化激发产生马约拉纳费米子与Z₂规范场,提供了对拓扑物理学与非易失性存储技术研究的新思路。区别于三角晶格与笼目格等材料中由于几何阻挫导致的量子自旋液体态,Kitaev量子自旋液体的形成来源于自旋空间中各向异性的Kitaev相互作用。近年来,在真实材料体系中寻找这种相互作用成为了实现量子自旋液体的新途径。其中,具有六角蜂窝状结构的莫特绝缘体 α-RuCl₃被认为是众多候选材料中最具潜力的一种。文章将从实验角度出发,以α-RuCl₃为主要代表体系,介绍近年来在Kitaev量子自旋液体实验研究方面的重要进展,特别是以中子散射为主要手段对材料中与Kitaev量子自旋液体态相关的自旋激发态研究的结果。     

Recent progress on magnetic-field studies on quantum-spin-liquid candidates

Quantum spin liquids(QSLs) represent a novel state of matter in which quantum fluctuations prevent the conventional magnetic order from being established, and the spins remain disordered even at zero temperature. There have been many theoretical developments proposing various QSL states. On the other hand, experimental movement was relatively slow largely due to limitations on the candidate materials and difficulties in the measurements. In recent years, the experimental progress has been accelerated. In this topical review, we give a brief summary of experiments on the QSL candidates under magnetic fields. We arrange our discussions by two categories: i) Geometrically-frustrated systems, including triangularlattice compounds YbMgGaO_4 and YbZnGaO_4, κ-(BEDT-TTF)_2 Cu_2(CN)_3, and EtMe_3 Sb[Pd(dmit)_2]_2, and the kagom′e system ZnCu_3(OH)_6 Cl_2; ii) the Kitaev material α-RuCl_3. Among these, we will pay special attention to α-RuCl_3, which has been intensively studied by ours and other groups recently. We will present evidence that both supports and rejects the QSL ground state for these materials, based on which we give several perspectives to stimulate further research activities.     

铁基超导体Fe1+yTe1-xSex中磁性的中子散射研究

本文对本研究组主要的研究领域——利用中子散射研究铁基超导体系Fe_1+yTe_1-xSe_x中磁性与超导的相互作用进行简要综述. Fe_1+yTe_1-xSe_x具有和其他铁基、铜基超导体相似的相图——母相Fe_1+yTe是反铁磁体, 随着Se掺杂的增加, 母相的反铁磁序受到抑制, 随后在x～30%处体超导出现, 在x～50%处达到最佳掺杂, 此时超导转变温度T_c～ 15 K, 达到整个体系在常压下的T_c最大值. 它们的相图又存在着差别: 在相图末端, 即当Se掺杂达100%时, Fe_1+ySe 仍然超导, T_c～8 K. 该体系母相磁有序的面内波矢大致为(0.5,0) (采用每个原胞含2个铁原子的四方结构), 随着Se含量的增加, 在超导逐渐发展的同时, 磁激发谱的谱重被逐渐转移到波矢为(0.5,0.5) 处. (0.5,0.5) 处在温度低于T_c 时出现中子-自旋共振峰. 施加外磁场后, 超导受到抑制, 该共振峰也被压制. 从这些实验结果我们得到以下的结论: 在这个体系中磁性和超导紧密耦合在一起——(0.5,0) 处的静态磁有序与超导互相竞争, (0.5,0.5) 附近的自旋激发则可能对超导电性的形成具有重要的促进作用. 本文还将简要讨论磁性的来源和3d 过渡金属的替代效应.     

Evidence for Magnetic Fractional Excitations in a Kitaev Quantum-Spin-Liquid Candidate α-RuCl3

It is known that α-Ru Cl₃ has been studied extensively because of its proximity to the Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid（QSL） phase and the possibility of approaching it by tuning the competing interactions. Here we present the first polarized inelastic neutron scattering study on α-Ru Cl₃ single crystals to explore the scattering continuum around the Γ point at the Brillouin zone center, which was hypothesized to be resulting from the Kitaev QSL state but without concrete evidenc...