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Legg, Henry F. and Braunecker, Bernd (2019). Spin liquid mediated RKKY interaction. Sci Rep, 9. LONDON: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. ISSN 2045-2322

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Abstract

We propose an RKKY-type interaction that is mediated by a spin liquid. If a spin liquid exists such an interaction could leave a fingerprint by ordering underlying localised moments such as nuclear spins. This interaction has a unique phenomenology that is distinct from the RKKY interaction found in fermionic systems; most notably the lack of a Fermi surface and absence of the requirement for itinerant electrons, since most spin liquids are insulators. We demonstrate that the interaction is predominately shaped by the lattice symmetries of the underlying spin liquid. As a working example we investigate the possible ordering of nuclear spins that interact through an underlying lattice of the two-dimensional spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet (KHAF), although the treatment remains general and can be extended to other spin liquids and dimensions. We find that several different nuclear spin orderings minimise the RKKY-type energy induced by the KHAF but are unstable due to a zero-energy flat magnon band in linear spin-wave theory. Despite this we show that a small magnetic field is able to gap out this magnon spectrum resulting in an intricate nuclear magnetism.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Legg, Henry F. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Braunecker, Bernd UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-127097
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-019-53842-7
Journal or Publication Title:	Sci Rep
Volume:	9
Date:	2019
Publisher:	NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
Place of Publication:	LONDON
ISSN:	2045-2322
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language HEISENBERG ANTIFERROMAGNETS; KAGOME; FERROMAGNETISM; LATTICE; STATE; ORDER Multiple languages Multidisciplinary Sciences Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/12709