Three-dimensional Kasteleyn transition: spin ice in a [100] field.
We examine the statistical mechanics of spin-ice materials with a [100] magnetic field. We show that the approach to saturated magnetization is, in the low-temperature limit, an example of a 3D Kasteleyn transition, which is topological in the sense that magnetization is changed only by excitations that span the entire system. We study the transition analytically and using a Monte Carlo cluster algorithm, and compare our results with recent data from experiments on Dy2Ti2O7.
Jaubert
L D C
LD
Laboratoire de Physique, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université de Lyon, CNRS, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France.
Chalker
J T
JT
Holdsworth
P C W
PC
Moessner
R
R