Spin excitations in nanographene-based antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains exhibit two distinct types of excitation spectrum: gapped for integer-spin chains and gapless for half-integer-spin chains. However, in finite-length half-integer-spin chains, quantization induces a gap, requiring precise control over sufficiently long chains to study its evolution. Here we create length-controlled spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains by covalently linking Olympicenes—Olympic-ring-shaped magnetic nanographenes. With large exchange interactions, tunable lengths and negligible magnetic anisotropy, this system is ideal for investigating length-dependent spin excitations, probed via inelastic electron tunnelling spectroscopy. We observe a power-law decay of the lowest excitation energy with length L, following a 1/L dependence in the large-L regime, consistent with theory. For L = 50, a V-shaped excitation continuum confirms a gapless behaviour in the thermodynamic limit. Additionally, low-bias current maps reveal the standing wave of a single spinon in odd-numbered chains. Our findings provide evidence for the realization of a one-dimensional analogue of a gapless spin liquid within an artificial graphene lattice.
Details
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 722-727 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Nature materials |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - 14 Mar 2025 |
| Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
| PubMed | 40087538 |
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