Acoustic signatures of the phases and phase transitions in Yb sub(2) Ti sub(2) O sub(7)

We report on measurements of the sound velocity and attenuation in a single crystal of the candidate quantum-spin-ice material Yb sub(2) Ti sub(2) O sub(7) as a function of temperature and magnetic field. The acoustic modes couple to the spins magnetoelastically and, hence, carry information about t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. B 2016-04, Vol.93 (14)
Main Authors: Bhattacharjee, Subhro, Erfanifam, S, Green, E L, Naumann, M, Wang, Zhaosheng, Granovsky, S, Doerr, M, Wosnitza, J, Zvyagin, A A, Moessner, R, Maljuk, A, Wurmehl, S, Buchner, B, Zherlitsyn, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attenuation
Condensed matter
Ferromagnetism
Magnetic fields
Phase diagrams
Phase transformations
Phases
Sound velocity
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We report on measurements of the sound velocity and attenuation in a single crystal of the candidate quantum-spin-ice material Yb sub(2) Ti sub(2) O sub(7) as a function of temperature and magnetic field. The acoustic modes couple to the spins magnetoelastically and, hence, carry information about the spin correlations that sheds light on the intricate magnetic phase diagram of Yb sub(2) Ti sub(2) O sub(7) and the nature of spin dynamics in the material. Particularly, we find a pronounced thermal hysteresis in the acoustic data with a concomitant peak in the specific heat indicating a possible first-order phase transition at about 0.17 K. At low temperatures, the acoustic response to magnetic field saturates hinting at the development of magnetic order. The experimental data are consistent with a first-order phase transition from a cooperative paramagnet to a ferromagnet below T[approximate]0.17 K, as shown by fitting the data with a phenomenological mean-field theory.
ISSN:2469-9950
2469-9969
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.93.144412