Journal
NATURE MATERIALS
Volume 21, Issue 4, Pages 416-+Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41563-021-01169-y
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Funding
- Slovenian Research Agency [P1-0125, J1-2461, BI-US/18-20-064, N1-0148, J2-2513]
- Science and Engineering Research Board
- Department of Science and Technology, India
- National Science Foundation [NSF/DMR-1644779]
- State of Florida
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Evidence for a quantum spin liquid phase in NdTa7O19 is reported, with effective spin-1/2 degrees of freedom and Ising-like nearest-neighbour correlations stabilized by strong spin-orbit coupling, allowing spin excitations to persist at low temperatures.
Disordered magnetic states known as spin liquids are of paramount importance in both fundamental and applied science. A classical state of this kind was predicted for the Ising antiferromagnetic triangular model, while additional non-commuting exchange terms were proposed to induce its quantum version-a quantum spin liquid. However, these predictions have not yet been confirmed experimentally. Here, we report evidence for such a state in the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet NdTa7O19. We determine its magnetic ground state, which is characterized by effective spin-1/2 degrees of freedom with Ising-like nearest-neighbour correlations and gives rise to spin excitations persisting down to the lowest accessible temperature of 40 mK. Our study demonstrates the key role of strong spin-orbit coupling in stabilizing spin liquids that result from magnetic anisotropy and highlights the large family of rare-earth (RE) heptatantalates RETa7O19 as a framework for realization of these states, which represent a promising platform for quantum applications. Neutron scattering, electron spin resonance, muon spectroscopy and magnetization measurements are applied to evidence a quantum spin liquid phase in NdTa7O19.
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