- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review Letters

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Spin Dynamics in the Dirac U(1) Spin Liquid YbZn2GaO5

Hank C. H. Wu1,*, Francis L. Pratt2, Benjamin M. Huddart1, Dipranjan Chatterjee1, Paul A. Goddard3, John Singleton4, D. Prabhakaran1, and Stephen J. Blundell1,†

  • *Contact author: hank.wu@physics.ox.ac.uk
  • †Contact author: stephen.blundell@physics.ox.ac.uk
PDF

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 046704 – Published 23 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/l93v-f576

Abstract

YbZn2GaO5 is a promising candidate for realizing a quantum spin liquid (QSL) state, particularly owing to its lack of significant site disorder. Pulsed-field magnetometry at 0.5 K shows magnetization saturating near 15 T, with a corrected saturation moment of 2.1(1)μB after subtracting the van Vleck contribution. Our zero-field μSR measurements down to milliKelvin temperatures provide evidence for a dynamic ground state and the absence of magnetic order. To probe fluctuations in the local magnetic field at the muon site, we performed longitudinal field μSR experiments. These results provide evidence for spin dynamics with a field dependence that is consistent with a U1A01 Dirac quantum spin liquid as a plausible description of the ground state.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (57)

  1. Introduction to Frustrated Magnetism, edited by C. Lacroix, P. Mendels, and F. Mila (Springer, Berlin, 2011).
  2. O. A. Starykh, Rep. Prog. Phys. 78, 052502 (2015).
  3. X.-G. Wen, Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 041004 (2017).
  4. Y. Zhou, K. Kanoda, and T.-K. Ng, Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 025003 (2017).
  5. L. Balents, Nature (London) 464, 199 (2010).
  6. L. Savary and L. Balents, Rep. Prog. Phys. 80, 016502 (2016).
  7. T. Lancaster, Contemp. Phys. 64, 127 (2023).
  8. A. Kitaev, Ann. Phys. (Amsterdam) 321, 2 (2006).
  9. S. Trebst and C. Hickey, Phys. Rep. 950, 1 (2022).
  10. R. Moessner and S. L. Sondhi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1881 (2001).
  11. S. Depenbrock, I. P. McCulloch, and U. Schollwöck, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 067201 (2012).
  12. Y. Ran, M. Hermele, P. A. Lee, and X.-G. Wen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 117205 (2007).
  13. Y. Iqbal, F. Becca, S. Sorella, and D. Poilblanc, Phys. Rev. B 87, 060405(R) (2013).
  14. M. B. Hastings, Phys. Rev. B 63, 014413 (2000).
  15. Z. Zhu, P. A. Maksimov, S. R. White, and A. L. Chernyshev, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 207203 (2018).
  16. G. Zheng, Y. Zhu, K.-W. Chen, B. Kang, D. Zhang, K. Jenkins, A. Chan, Z. Zeng, A. Xu, O. A. Valenzuela, J. Blawat, J. Singleton, S. Li, P. A. Lee, and L. Li, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122, e2421390122 (2025).
  17. G. Zheng, D. Zhang, Y. Zhu, K.-W. Chen, A. Chan, K. Jenkins, B. Kang, Z. Zeng, A. Xu, D. Ratkovski, J. Blawat, A. F. Bangura, J. Singleton, P. A. Lee, S. Li, and L. Li, Phys. Rev. X 15, 021076 (2025).
  18. M. R. Norman, Rev. Mod. Phys. 88, 041002 (2016).
  19. W. Liu, Z. Zhang, J. Ji, Y. Liu, J. Li, X. Wang, H. Lei, G. Chen, and Q. Zhang, Chin. Phys. Lett. 35, 117501 (2018).
  20. C. Broholm, R. J. Cava, S. A. Kivelson, D. G. Nocera, M. R. Norman, and T. Senthil, Science 367, eaay0668 (2020).
  21. L. Clark and A. H. Abdeldaim, Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 51, 495 (2021).
  22. Y. Li, G. Chen, W. Tong, L. Pi, J. Liu, Z. Yang, X. Wang, and Q. Zhang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 167203 (2015).
  23. Y. Li, D. Adroja, P. K. Biswas, P. J. Baker, Q. Zhang, J. Liu, A. A. Tsirlin, P. Gegenwart, and Q. Zhang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 097201 (2016).
  24. Z. Zhu, P. A. Maksimov, S. R. White, and A. L. Chernyshev, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 157201 (2017).
  25. J. A. M. Paddison, M. Daum, Z. Dun, G. Ehlers, Y. Liu, M. B. Stone, H. Zhou, and M. Mourigal, Nat. Phys. 13, 117 (2017).
  26. F. L. Pratt, F. Lang, W. Steinhardt, S. Haravifard, and S. J. Blundell, Phys. Rev. B 106, L060401 (2022).
  27. R. Bag, S. Xu, N. E. Sherman, L. Yadav, A. I. Kolesnikov, A. A. Podlesnyak, E. S. Choi, I. da Silva, J. E. Moore, and S. Haravifard, Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 266703 (2024).
  28. N. E. Sherman, M. Dupont, and J. E. Moore, Phys. Rev. B 107, 165146 (2023).
  29. F. L. Pratt, F. Lang, S. J. Blundell, W. Steinhardt, S. Haravifard, S. Mañas-Valero, E. Coronado, B. M. Huddart, and T. Lancaster, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 2462, 012038 (2023).
  30. S. J. Blundell, R. De Renzi, T. Lancaster, and F. L. Pratt, Muon Spectroscopy: An Introduction (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2021).
  31. F. L. Pratt, Physica (Amsterdam) 289-290B, 710 (2000).
  32. P. Hauke, M. Heyl, L. Tagliacozzo, and P. Zoller, Nat. Phys. 12, 778 (2016).
  33. A. Scheie, P. Laurell, A. M. Samarakoon, B. Lake, S. E. Nagler, G. E. Granroth, S. Okamoto, G. Alvarez, and D. A. Tennant, Phys. Rev. B 103, 224434 (2021).
  34. P. Laurell, A. Scheie, C. J. Mukherjee, M. M. Koza, M. Enderle, Z. Tylczynski, S. Okamoto, R. Coldea, D. A. Tennant, and G. Alvarez, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 037201 (2021).
  35. J. S. Möller, D. Ceresoli, T. Lancaster, N. Marzari, and S. J. Blundell, Phys. Rev. B 87, 121108(R) (2013).
  36. F. Bernardini, P. Bonfà, S. Massidda, and R. De Renzi, Phys. Rev. B 87, 115148 (2013).
  37. S. J. Blundell and T. Lancaster, Appl. Phys. Rev. 10, 021316 (2023).
  38. S. J. Clark, M. D. Segall, C. J. Pickard, P. J. Hasnip, M. I. J. Probert, K. Refson, and M. C. Payne, Z. Kristallogr. Cryst. Mater. 220, 567 (2005).
  39. R. S. Hayano, Y. J. Uemura, J. Imazato, N. Nishida, T. Yamazaki, and R. Kubo, Phys. Rev. B 20, 850 (1979).
  40. X.-G. Wen, Phys. Rev. B 65, 165113 (2002).
  41. Y.-D. Li, X. Wang, and G. Chen, Phys. Rev. B 94, 035107 (2016).
  42. Y.-D. Li, Y.-M. Lu, and G. Chen, Phys. Rev. B 96, 054445 (2017).
  43. Z. Zhu, P. A. Maksimov, S. R. White, and A. L. Chernyshev, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 157201 (2017).
  44. I. Kimchi, A. Nahum, and T. Senthil, Phys. Rev. X 8, 031028 (2018).
  45. V. Dantas and E. C. Andrade, Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 037204 (2022).
  46. A. Singhania, J. van den Brink, and S. Nishimoto, Phys. Rev. Res. 5, 023009 (2023).
  47. S. Sabharwal, T. Shimokawa, and N. Shannon, Phys. Rev. Res. 7, 023271 (2025).
  48. S. J. Blundell, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2410486 (2025).
  49. J. P. Perdew, K. Burke, and M. Ernzerhof, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 3865 (1996).
  50. H. J. Monkhorst and J. D. Pack, Phys. Rev. B 13, 5188 (1976).
  51. B. Huddart, A. Hernández-Melián, T. Hicken, M. Gomilšek, Z. Hawkhead, S. Clark, F. Pratt, and T. Lancaster, Comput. Phys. Commun. 280, 108488 (2022).
  52. A. Scheie, J. Appl. Crystallogr. 54, 356 (2021).
  53. F. R. Foronda, F. Lang, J. S. Möller, T. Lancaster, A. T. Boothroyd, F. L. Pratt, S. R. Giblin, D. Prabhakaran, and S. J. Blundell, Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 017602 (2015).
  54. A. M. Essin and M. Hermele, Phys. Rev. B 90, 121102(R) (2014).
  55. P. Hyllus, W. Laskowski, R. Krischek, C. Schwemmer, W. Wieczorek, H. Weinfurter, L. Pezzé, and A. Smerzi, Phys. Rev. A 85, 022321 (2012).
  56. G. Tóth, Phys. Rev. A 85, 022322 (2012).
  57. P. Laurell, A. Scheie, E. Dagotto, and D. A. Tennant, Adv. Quantum Technol. 8, 2400196 (2025).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 046704– Published 23 July, 2025
  • Received 31 January 2025
  • Revised 30 April 2025
  • Accepted 30 June 2025
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation