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arXiv · 1612.07202

Destabilization of magnetic order in a dilute Kitaev spin liquid candidate

P. Lampen-Kelley·A. Banerjee·A. A. Aczel·H. B. Cao·M. B. Stone·C. A. Bridges·J. -Q. Yan·S. E. Nagler·D. Mandrus
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Abstract

The insulating honeycomb magnet $α$-RuCl$_{3}$ exhibits fractionalized excitiations that signal its proximity to a Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL) state, however, at $T=0$, fragile long-range magnetic order arises from non-Kitaev terms in the Hamiltonian. Spin vacancies in the form of Ir$^{3+}$ substituted for Ru are found to destabilize this long-range order. Neutron diffraction and bulk characterization of Ru$_{1-x}$Ir$_{x}$Cl$_{3}$ show that the magnetic ordering temperature is suppressed with increasing $x$ and evidence of zizag magnetic order is absent for $x>0.3$. Inelastic neutron scattering demonstrates that the signature of fractionalized excitations is maintained over the full range of $x$ investigated. The depleted lattice without magnetic order thus hosts a spin-liquid-like ground state that may indicate the relevance of Kitaev physics in the magnetically dilute limit of RuCl$_{3}$.

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P. Lampen-Kelley, A. Banerjee, A. A. Aczel, H. B. Cao, M. B. Stone, C. A. Bridges, J. -Q. Yan, S. E. Nagler, D. Mandrus. 2017-10-26. Destabilization of magnetic order in a dilute Kitaev spin liquid candidate. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.119.237203

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