Site dilution of quantum spins in the honeycomb lattice

We discuss the effect of site dilution on both the magnetization and the density of states of quantum spins in the honeycomb lattice, described by the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg spin-S model. For this purpose a real-space Bogoliubov-Valatin transformation is used. In this work we show that for the S>1/2 the system can be analyzed in terms of linear spin wave theory. For spin S=1/2, however, the linear spin wave approximation breaks down. In this case, we have studied the effect of dilution on the staggered magnetization using the Stochastic Series Expansion Monte Carlo method. Two main results are to be stressed from the Monte Carlo method: (i) a better value for the staggered magnetization of the undiluted system, m=0.2677(6); (ii) a finite value of the staggered magnetization of the percolating cluster at the classical percolation threshold, showing that there is no quantum critical transition driven by dilution in the Heisenberg model. In the solution of the problem using linear the spin wave method we pay special attention to the presence of zero energy modes. Using a combination of linear spin wave analysis and the recursion method we were able to obtain the thermodynamic limit behavior of the density of states for both the square and the honeycomb lattices. We have used both the staggered magnetization and the density of states to analyze neutron scattering experiments and Neel temperature measurements on quasi-two- -dimensional honeycomb systems. Our results are in quantitative agreement with experimental results on Mn_pZn_{1-p}PS_3 and on the Ba(Ni_pMg_{1-p})_2V_2O_8.Comment: 21 pages (REVTEX), 16 figure

Orbital occupancies and the putative jeff = 1/2 groundstate in Ba2IrO4: a combined oxygen K edge XAS and RIXS study

The nature of the electronic groundstate of Ba2IrO4 has been addressed using soft X-ray absorption and inelastic scattering techniques in the vicinity of the oxygen K edge. From the polarization and angular dependence of XAS we deduce an approximately equal superposition of xy, yz and zx Ir4+ 5d orbitals. By combining the measured orbital occupancies, with the value of the spin-orbit coupling provided by RIXS, we estimate the crystal field splitting associated with the tetragonal distortion of the IrO6 octahedra to be small, \Delta=50(50) meV. We thus conclude definitively that Ba2IrO4 is a close realization of a spin-orbit Mott insulator with a jeff = 1/2 groundstate, thereby overcoming ambiguities in this assignment associated with the interpretation of X-ray resonant scattering experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Laser-Induced Skyrmion Writing and Erasing in an Ultrafast Cryo-Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscopy

We demonstrate that light-induced heat pulses of different duration and energy can write skyrmions in a broad range of temperatures and magnetic field in FeGe. Using a combination of camera-rate and pump-probe cryo-Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscopy, we directly resolve the spatio-temporal evolution of the magnetization ensuing optical excitation. The skyrmion lattice was found to maintain its structural properties during the laser-induced demagnetization, and its recovery to the initial state happened in the sub-{\mu}s to {\mu}s range, depending on the cooling rate of the system

Spin gap evolution upon Ca doping in the spin ladder series Sr14−xCaxCu24O41Sr_{14-x}Ca_xCu_{24}O_{41} by inelastic neutron scattering

The spin gap evolution upon Ca doping in Sr14-xCaxCu24O41 was systematically investigated using inelastic neutron scattering. We discover that the singlet-triplet spin gap excitation survives in this series with x up to 13, indicating the singlet dimer ground state in these compounds. This observation corrects the previous speculation that the spin gap collapses at x~13 by the NMR technique. The strong intensity modulation along QH in x=0 gradually evolves into a Q-independent feature in x>11. This could be attributed to the localized Cu moment magnetism developing into an itinerant magnetism with increasing x. It is a surprise that the spin gap persists in the normal state of this spin ladder system with metallic behaviour, which evidences the possibility of magnetically-mediated carrier pairing mechanism in a two-leg spin ladder lattice.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Origin of the Spin-Orbital Liquid State in a Nearly J=0 Iridate Ba3ZnIr2O9

We show using detailed magnetic and thermodynamic studies and theoretical calculations that the ground state of Ba3ZnIr2O9 is a realization of a novel spin-orbital liquid state. Our results reveal that Ba3ZnIr2O9 with Ir5+ (5d(4)) ions and strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) arrives very close to the elusive J = 0 state but each Ir ion still possesses a weak moment. Ab initio density functional calculations indicate that this moment is developed due to superexchange, mediated by a strong intradimer hopping mechanism. While the Ir spins within the structural Ir2O9 dimer are expected to form a spin-orbit singlet state (SOS) with no resultant moment, substantial frustration arising from interdimer exchange interactions induce quantum fluctuations in these possible SOS states favoring a spin-orbital liquid phase down to at least 100 mK

Quantum bits with Josephson junctions

Already in the first edition of this book (Barone and Paterno, "Fundamentals and Physics and Applications of the Josephson Effect", Wiley 1982), a great number of interesting and important applications for Josephson junctions were discussed. In the decades that have passed since then, several new applications have emerged. This chapter treats one such new class of applications: quantum optics and quantum information processing (QIP) based on superconducting circuits with Josephson junctions. In this chapter, we aim to explain the basics of superconducting quantum circuits with Josephson junctions and demonstrate how these systems open up new prospects, both for QIP and for the study of quantum optics and atomic physics.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures. Book chapter for a new edition of Barone and Paterno's "Fundamentals and Physics and Applications of the Josephson Effect". Final versio