Synthesis of the Kagome Spin Ice Ho₃Mg₂Sb₃O₁₄

A geometrically frustrated magnet is a system in which the material’s crystal structure prevents its magnetic spins from each anti-aligning in the most energetically favorable way. In particular, there is no single lowest energy state, resulting in a high ground state degeneracy. This can lead to exotic states of matter that may behave non-classically even at ultra-low temperatures. The kagome spin ice is an example of such a material, wherein Ising spins are frustrated due to the triangular 2D kagome lattice structure. We have synthesized powder of such a material: Ho₃Mg₂Sb₃O₁₄, as well as holmium doped La₃Mg₂Sb₃O₁₄. With this doped material, we are able to isolate the effects of the magnetic Holmium ions from those of the surrounding environment. We have also found preliminary results on the synthesis of single crystals of this kagome lattice. Additionally, we have measured neutron scattering data on powder samples of these materials, which has allowed us to separate out the contributions of the magnetic ions from the environment and nearby interactions.

Resources

Dun, Zhiling, et al. "Quantum Spin Fragmentation in Kagome Ice Ho3Mg2Sb3O14." arXiv preprint arXiv:1806.04081 (2018).