Spin Dynamics of the Spin-$1/2$ Kagome Lattice Antiferromagnet ${\mathrm{ZnCu}}_{3}(\mathrm{OH}{)}_{6}{\mathrm{Cl}}_{2}$

Spin Dynamics of the Spin- $1 / 2$ Kagome Lattice Antiferromagnet ${ZnCu}_{3} (OH)_{6} {Cl}_{2}$

J. S. Helton, K. Matan, M. P. Shores, E. A. Nytko, B. M. Bartlett, Y. Yoshida, Y. Takano, A. Suslov, Y. Qiu, J.-H. Chung, D. G. Nocera, and Y. S. Lee

Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 107204 – Published 9 March 2007

Abstract

We have performed thermodynamic and neutron scattering measurements on the $S = 1 / 2$ kagomé lattice antiferromagnet ${ZnCu}_{3} (OH)_{6} {Cl}_{2}$ . The susceptibility indicates a Curie-Weiss temperature of $θ_{CW} ≃ - 300 K$ ; however, no magnetic order is observed down to 50 mK. Inelastic neutron scattering reveals a spectrum of low energy spin excitations with no observable gap down to 0.1 meV. The specific heat at low- $T$ follows a power law temperature dependence. These results suggest that an unusual spin liquid state with essentially gapless excitations is realized in this kagomé lattice system.

Received 19 October 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.107204

Authors & Affiliations

J. S. Helton¹, K. Matan¹, M. P. Shores², E. A. Nytko², B. M. Bartlett², Y. Yoshida³, Y. Takano³, A. Suslov⁴, Y. Qiu⁵, J.-H. Chung⁵, D. G. Nocera², and Y. S. Lee¹

¹Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
²Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
³Department of Physics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
⁴National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tallahassee, Florida 32310, USA
⁵NIST Center for Neutron Research, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

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Vol. 98, Iss. 10 — 9 March 2007

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Physical Review Letters

Spin Dynamics of the Spin-1/2 Kagome Lattice Antiferromagnet ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2

J. S. Helton, K. Matan, M. P. Shores, E. A. Nytko, B. M. Bartlett, Y. Yoshida, Y. Takano, A. Suslov, Y. Qiu, J.-H. Chung, D. G. Nocera, and Y. S. Lee

Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 107204 – Published 9 March 2007

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Spin Dynamics of the Spin- $1 / 2$ Kagome Lattice Antiferromagnet ${ZnCu}_{3} (OH)_{6} {Cl}_{2}$