Unconventional magnetic oscillations in a kagome Mott insulator.

ABSTRACT: In metals, electrons in a magnetic field undergo cyclotron motion, leading to oscillations in physical properties called quantum oscillations. This phenomenon has never been seen in a robust insulator because there are no mobile electrons. We report an exception to this rule. We study a Mott insulator on a kagome lattice which does not order magnetically down to milli-Kelvin temperatures despite antiferromagnetic interactions. We observe a plateau at magnetization equal to [Formula: see text] Bohr magneton per magnetic ion, accompanied by oscillations in the magnetic torque, reminiscent of quantum oscillations in metals. The temperature dependence obeys Fermi distribution. These phenomena are consistent with a quantum spin liquid state whose excitations are fermionic spinons with a Dirac-l

SUBMITTER: Zheng G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11804708 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature