Fractionalized excitations probed by ultrasound

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • A. Hauspurg - , Chair of Physics of High Magnetic Fields, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • S. Zherlitsyn - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • T. Helm - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • V. Felea - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • J. Wosnitza - , Clusters of Excellence ct.qmat: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter, Chair of Physics of High Magnetic Fields, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • V. Tsurkan - , Augsburg University, Moldova State University (Author)
  • K. Y. Choi - , Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) (Author)
  • S. H. Do - , Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Author)
  • Mengxing Ye - , University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Utah (Author)
  • Wolfram Brenig - , Technical University of Braunschweig (Author)
  • Natalia B. Perkins - , University of Minnesota - College of Science and Engineering, Technical University of Munich (Author)

Abstract

In this work, we study magnetoelastic interactions by means of ultrasound experiments in α-RuCl3 - a prototypical material for the Kitaev spin model on the honeycomb lattice, with a possible spin-liquid state featuring Majorana fermions and Z2-flux excitations. We present results of the temperature and in-plane magnetic-field dependence of the sound velocity and sound attenuation for several longitudinal and transverse phonon modes propagating along high-symmetry crystallographic directions. A comprehensive data analysis above the magnetically ordered state provides strong evidence of phonon scattering by Majorana fermions. This scattering depends sensitively on the value of the phonon velocities relative to the characteristic velocity of the low-energy fermionic excitations describing the spin dynamics of the underlying Kitaev magnet. Moreover, our data displays a distinct reduction of anisotropy of the sound attenuation, consistent with the presence of thermally excited Z2 visons. We demonstrate the potential of phonon dynamics as a promising probe for uncovering fractionalized excitations in α-RuCl3 and provide new insights into the H-T phase diagram of this material.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number144415
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume109
Issue number14
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2024
Peer-reviewedYes