Disordered Route to the Coulomb Quantum Spin Liquid: Random Transverse Fields on Spin Ice in Pr_{2}Zr_{2}O_{7}.
Inelastic neutron scattering reveals a broad continuum of excitations in Pr_{2}Zr_{2}O_{7}, the temperature and magnetic field dependence of which indicate a continuous distribution of quenched transverse fields (Δ) acting on the non-Kramers Pr^{3+} crystal field ground state doublets. Spin-ice correlations are apparent within 0.2 meV of the Zeeman energy. A random phase approximation provides an excellent account of the data with a transverse field distribution ρ(Δ)∝(Δ^{2}+Γ^{2})^{-1}, where Γ=0.27(1)  meV. Established during high temperature synthesis due to an underlying structural instability, it appears disorder in Pr_{2}Zr_{2}O_{7} actually induces a quantum spin liquid.
Institute for Quantum Matter and Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.|Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.|Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
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Wen
Institute for Quantum Matter and Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
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Koohpayeh
Institute for Quantum Matter and Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.|NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA.
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Ross
Department of Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
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Trump
Institute for Quantum Matter and Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.|Department of Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
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McQueen
Institute for Solid State Physics (ISSP), University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8581, Japan.|Division of Materials Physics, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan.
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Kimura
Institute for Solid State Physics (ISSP), University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8581, Japan.|CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
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Nakatsuji
NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA.
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Qiu
NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA.
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Pajerowski
NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA.
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Copley
Institute for Quantum Matter and Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.|NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
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Broholm