Quantum critical behavior for a model magnet

The classical, thermally driven transition in the dipolar-coupled Ising ferromagnet LiHoF_4 (T_c=1.53K) can be converted into a quantum transition driven by a transverse magnetic field H_t at T=0. The transverse field, applied perpendicular to the Ising axis, introduces channels for quantum relaxation, thereby depressing T_c. We have determined the phase diagram in the H_t−T plane via magnetic susceptibility measurements. The critical exponent, γ=1, has a mean-field value in both the classical and quantum limits. A solution of the full mean-field Hamiltonian using the known LiHoF_4 crystal-field wave functions, including nuclear hyperfine terms, accurately matches experiment

Quantum annealing of a disordered magnet

Traditional simulated annealing uses thermal fluctuations for convergence in optimization problems. Quantum tunneling provides a different mechanism for moving between states, with the potential for reduced time scales. Thermal and quantum annealing are compared in a model disordered magnet, where the effects of quantum mechanics can be tuned by varying an applied magnetic field. The results indicate that quantum annealing hastens convergence to the optimum state

Quenching of the nonlinear susceptibility at a T=0 spin glass transition

LiHo_(0.167)Y_(0.833)F_4 is a dilute dipolar-coupled Ising magnet with a spin glass transition which can be crossed with temperature T (T_g=0.13 K) or with an effective transverse field Γ(Γ_g=1 K at T=0). The nonlinear susceptibility contains a diverging component which dominates at T=98 mK, but disappears by 25 mK. At the same time, the onset of spin glass behavior in the dissipative linear susceptibility becomes sharper. We conclude that, contrary to theoretical expectations, quantum transitions can be qualitatively different from thermally driven transitions in real spin glasses

High-frequency dynamics and the spin-glass transition

We identify two distinct regimes in the high-frequency response of the insulating, Ising spin-glass, LiHo_(0.167)Y_(0.833)F_4 The asymptotic high-frequency behavior of the imaginary part of the magnetic susceptibility becomes frequency independent as the spin-glass transition is approached: the shortest and the longest measured time scales both contain information about the actual phase transition. We compare our results to corresponding data on supercooled liquids

Evidence for glass and spin-glass phase transitions from the dynamic susceptibility

We present evidence that there is a phase transition, with a diverging static susceptibility, underlying the transformation of a liquid into a glass. The dielectric susceptibility, at frequencies above its characteristic value, shows a power-law tail extending over many decades to higher frequencies. An extrapolation of this behavior to the temperature where the dynamics becomes arrested indicates a diverging susceptibility. We present evidence for analogous behavior in the magnetic susceptibility of a paramagnet approaching the spin-glass transition. The similarity of the response in these two glassy systems suggests that some conventional lore, such as that the spin glass shows evidence for a diverging correlation length only in a nonlinear but not in the linear susceptibility, may be invalid

Quantum renormalization group of XYZ model in a transverse magnetic field

We have studied the zero temperature phase diagram of XYZ model in the presence of transverse magnetic field. We show that small anisotropy (0 =< Delta <1) is not relevant to change the universality class. The phase diagram consists of two antiferromagnetic ordering and a paramagnetic phases. We have obtained the critical exponents, fixed points and running of coupling constants by implementing the standard quantum renormalization group. The continuous phase transition from antiferromagnetic (spin-flop) phase to a paramagnetic one is in the universality class of Ising model in transverse field. Numerical exact diagonalization has been done to justify our results. We have also addressed on the application of our findings to the recent experiments on Cs_2CoCl_4.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, new references added to the present versio

A quantum Monte Carlo algorithm realizing an intrinsic relaxation

We propose a new quantum Monte Carlo algorithm which realizes a relaxation intrinsic to the original quantum system. The Monte Carlo dynamics satisfies the dynamic scaling relation $\tau\sim \xi^z$ and is independent of the Trotter number. Finiteness of the Trotter number just appears as the finite-size effect. An infinite Trotter number version of the algorithm is also formulated, which enables us to observe a true relaxation of the original system. The strategy of the algorithm is a compromise between the conventional worldline local flip and the modern cluster loop flip. It is a local flip in the real-space direction and is a cluster flip in the Trotter direction. The new algorithm is tested by the transverse-field Ising model in two dimensions. An accurate phase diagram is obtained.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Order to disorder transition in the XY-like quantum magnet Cs2CoCl4 induced by noncommuting applied fields

We explore the effects of noncommuting applied fields on the ground-state ordering of the quasi-one-dimensional spin-1/2 XY-like antiferromagnet Cs2CoCl4 using single-crystal neutron diffraction. In zero field interchain couplings cause long-range order below T_N=217(5) mK with chains ordered antiferromagnetically along their length and moments confined to the (b,c) plane. Magnetic fields applied at an angle to the XY planes are found to initially stabilize the order by promoting a spin-flop phase with an increased perpendicular antiferromagnetic moment. In higher fields the antiferromagnetic order becomes unstable and a transition occurs to a phase with no long-range order in the (b,c) plane, proposed to be a spin liquid phase that arises when the quantum fluctuations induced by the noncommuting field become strong enough to overcome ordering tendencies. Magnetization measurements confirm that saturation occurs at much higher fields and that the proposed spin-liquid state exists in the region 2.10 < H_SL < 2.52 T || a. The observed phase diagram is discussed in terms of known results on XY-like chains in coexisting longitudinal and transverse fields.Comment: revtex, 14 figures, 2 tables, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Magnetocaloric effect and magnetic cooling near a field-induced quantum-critical point

The presence of a quantum critical point (QCP) can significantly affect the thermodynamic properties of a material at finite temperatures T. This is reflected, e.g., in the entropy landscape S(T, r) in the vicinity of a QCP, yielding particularly strong variations for varying the tuning parameter r such as pressure or magnetic field B. Here we report on the determination of the critical enhancement of $\delta S / \delta B$ near a B-induced QCP via absolute measurements of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), $(\delta T / \delta B)_S$, and demonstrate that the accumulation of entropy around the QCP can be used for efficient low-temperature magnetic cooling. Our proof of principle is based on measurements and theoretical calculations of the MCE and the cooling performance for a Cu$^{2+}$-containing coordination polymer, which is a very good realization of a spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain - one of the simplest quantum-critical systems.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure