arXiv · 2011.00606
Probing signatures of fractionalization in candidate quantum spin liquid Cu2IrO3 via anomalous Raman scattering
Abstract
Long-range entanglement in quantum spin liquids (QSLs) lead to novel low energy excitations with fractionalised quantum numbers and (in 2D) statistics. Experimental detection and manipulation of these excitations present a challenge particularly in view of diverse candidate magnets. A promising probe of fractionalisation is their coupling to phonons. Here we present Raman scattering results for the S = 1/2 honeycomb iridate Cu2IrO3, a candidate Kitaev QSL with fractionalised Majorana fermions and Ising flux excitations. We observe anomalous low temperature frequency shift and linewidth broadening of the Raman intensities in addition to a broad magnetic continuum both of which, we derive, are naturally attributed to the phonon decaying into itinerant Majoranas. The dynamic Raman susceptibility marks a crossover from the QSL to a thermal paramagnet at ~120 K. The phonon anomalies below this temperature demonstrate a strong phonon-Majorana coupling. These results provide for evidence of spin fractionalisation in Cu2IrO3.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Srishti Pal, Arnab Seth, Piyush Sakrikar, Anzar Ali, Subhro Bhattacharjee, D. V. S. Muthu, Yogesh Singh, A. K. Sood. 2020-11-01. Probing signatures of fractionalization in candidate quantum spin liquid Cu2IrO3 via anomalous Raman scattering. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.104.184420
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.