High-temperature quantum coherence of spinons in a rare-earth spin chain.

ABSTRACT: Conventional wisdom dictates that quantum effects become unimportant at high temperatures. In magnets, when the thermal energy exceeds interactions between atomic magnetic moments, the moments are usually uncorrelated, and classical paramagnetic behavior is observed. This thermal decoherence of quantum spin behaviors is a major hindrance to quantum information applications of spin systems. Remarkably, our neutron scattering experiments on Yb chains in an insulating perovskite crystal defy these conventional expectations. We find a sharply defined spectrum of spinons, fractional quantum excitations of spin-1/2 chains, to persist to temperatures much higher than the scale of the interactions between Yb magnetic moments. The observed sharpness of the spinon continuum's dispersive upper bounda

SUBMITTER: Kish LL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12271503 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature