Abstract
Single-crystal x-ray diffraction, density-functional band-structure calculations, and muon spin relaxation ($\mu$SR) are used to probe pressure evolution of the triangular spin-liquid candidate YbMgGaO$_4$. The rhombohedral crystal structure is retained up to at least 10 GPa and shows a nearly uniform compression along both in-plane and out-of-plane directions, whereas local distortions caused by the random distribution of Mg$^{2+}$ and Ga$^{3+}$ remain mostly unchanged. The $\mu$SR data confirm persistent spin dynamics up to 2.6 GPa and down to 250 mK with no change in the muon relaxation rate. Longitudinal-field $\mu$SR reveals power-law behavior of the spin-spin autocorrelation function, both at ambient pressure and upon compression.
Highlights
Spin-liquid states in frustrated magnets are nowadays actively studied as hosts for unconventional excitations representing magnetic monopoles [1,2] and other exotic quasiparticles [3,4]
We focus on the spin-liquid candidate YbMgGaO4 [5,6,7] that recently evolved as a unique triangular antiferromagnet with the robust threefold symmetry, persistent spin dynamics, and a broad continuum of magnetic excitations
YbMgGaO4 is remarkably insensitive to pressure and different from other spin-liquid candidates
Summary
Spin-liquid states in frustrated magnets are nowadays actively studied as hosts for unconventional excitations representing magnetic monopoles [1,2] and other exotic quasiparticles [3,4]. We focus on the spin-liquid candidate YbMgGaO4 [5,6,7] that recently evolved as a unique triangular antiferromagnet with the robust threefold symmetry, persistent spin dynamics, and a broad continuum of (potentially fractionalized) magnetic excitations. YbMgGaO4 is known to be strongly affected by structural randomness that arises from the random distribution of Mg2+ and Ga3+ between the Yb3+ layers and modulates magnetic interactions via random crystal electric fields acting on Yb3+ [20,21]. No such randomness occurs in other Yb-based triangular antiferromagnets. We show that in YbMgGaO4, spins remain dynamic up to at least 2.6 GPa, and quantify associated structural changes for an eventual comparison across different classes of spin-liquid materials
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