Nonmonotonic Zero-Point Entropy in Diluted Spin Ice

Abstract

Water ice and spin ice are important model systems in which theory can directly account for "zero-point" entropy associated with quenched configurational disorder. Spin ice differs from water ice in the important respect that its fundamental constituents, the spins of the magnetic ions, can be removed through replacement with nonmagnetic ions while keeping the lattice structure intact. In order to investigate the interplay of frustrated interactions and quenched disorder, we have performed systematic heat capacity measurements on spin ice materials which have been thus diluted up to 90%. Investigations of both Ho and Dy spin ices reveal that the zero-point entropy depends nonmonotonically on dilution and approaches the value of Rln2 in the limit of high dilution. The data are in good agreement with a generalization of Pauling's theory for the entropy of ice.