Tunability of quantum-critical phenomena in the Ising ferromagnet TbV6Sn6

ORAL

Abstract

The kagome metal TbV6Sn6 is a candidate for potential topological and flat-band phenomena. The kagome V bilayers are non-magnetic while the triangular Tb sublattice shows strongly uniaxial Ising ferromagnetism below the transition temperature TC = 4 K. The Ising ferromagnet under a transverse magnetic field can lead to a quantum critical phase transition from ordered state to quantum paramagnet state. Here, we present inelastic neutron scattering results on the powder TbV6Sn6 samples showing the dispersionless crystal electric field (CEF) excitations at various temperatures. The fitted CEF parameters and corresponding CEF spectrum are consistent with an Ising doublet ground state and a large gap to the next CEF level. Measurements of the magnetization in transverse fields reveal a first-order-like jump to saturation near 25 T originating from a CEF level that crosses the Ising doublet. Below this critical field, the Ising doublet levels are only weakly split by the transverse field, suggesting that quantum-criticality is avoided in TbV6Sn6.

* This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE), Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering. Ames National Laboratory is operated for the U.S. DOE by Iowa State University under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11358. This research used resources at the Spallation Neutron Source, which is a U.S. DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The work performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) was supported by National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-2128556 and the U.S. DOE.

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Presenters

  • Tianxiong Han

    Iowa State University, Ames National Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames National Lab

Authors

  • Tianxiong Han

    Iowa State University, Ames National Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames National Lab

  • Ryan McKenzie

    Iowa State University

  • Joanna Blawat

    NHMFL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Tyler J Slade

    Ames National Lab, Ames National Laboratory

  • Bing Li

    Argonne National Laboratory

  • Daniel M Pajerowski

    Oak Ridge National Lab, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • John Singleton

    NHMFL/ LANL, NHMFL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Paul C Canfield

    Iowa State University, Ames National Laboratory/Iowa State University

  • Ross D McDonald

    Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Benjamin G Ueland

    Ames National Laboratory/Iowa State University, Ames National Laboratory

  • Rebecca A Flint

    Iowa State University, Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory

  • Robert J McQueeney

    Ames National Laboratory/Iowa State University, Iowa State University, Ames National Laboratory and Iowa State University