Candidate quantum spin ice in the pyrochlore Pr2Hf2O7
Abstract
We report the low temperature magnetic properties of the pyrochlore Pr2Hf2O7. Polycrystalline and single-crystal samples are investigated using time-of-flight neutron spectroscopy and macroscopic measurements, respectively. The crystal-field splitting produces a non-Kramers doublet ground state for Pr3+, with Ising-like anisotropy. Below 0.5 K ferromagnetic correlations develop, which suggests that the system enters a spin ice-like state associated with the metamagnetic behavior observed at μ0Hc2.4~T. In this regime, the development of a discrete inelastic excitation in the neutron spectra indicates the appearance of spin dynamics which are likely related to cooperative quantum fluctuations.
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