Ground state properties of the Heisenberg-compass model on the square lattice

Compass models provide insights into the properties of Mott-insulating materials that host bond-dependent anisotropic interactions between their pseudospin degrees of freedom. In this article, we explore the classical and quantum ground state properties of one such model relevant to certain layered perovskite materials akin to Ba$_2$IrO$_4$ - namely, the Heisenberg-compass model on the square lattice. We first investigate the ground state phase diagram of this model using classical Monte Carlo simulations. These reveal that the low temperature classical phase diagram is divided into six different classes of long-range ordered phases, including four phases that exhibit an order by disorder selection and two phases that are stabilized energetically. This model admits a special duality transformation, known as the Klein duality, conveniently allowing to map one region of coupling parameters onto another and constraining the phase diagram, and which we exploit in our study. From the analysis of the zero-point energy and the free energy of the spin waves, we find that order by quantum disorder at zero temperature and order by thermal disorder select the same orderings as those found from classical Monte Carlo simulations. We further investigate the quantum ground states of this model using numerical exact diagonalization on small clusters by exploiting the translational symmetry of the square lattice. We obtain a ground state phase diagram bearing close resemblance to that found from the classical analysis.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Magnetic properties of triangular lattice antiferromagnets Ba3RB9O18 (R = Yb, Er)

Frustration, spin correlations and interplay between competing degrees of freedom are some of the key ingredients that underlie exotic states with fractional excitations in quantum materials. Rare-earth based two dimensional magnetic lattice wherein crystal electric field, spin-orbit coupling, anisotropy and electron correlation between rare-earth moments offer a new paradigm in this context. Herein, we present crystal structure, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat accompanied by crystal electric field calculations on the polycrystalline sample of Ba3RB9O18 (R = Yb, Er) in which R3+ ions form a perfect triangular lattice without anti-site disorder. The localized R3+ spins show neither long-range order nor spin-glass state down to 1.9 K in Ba3RB9O18. Magnetization data reveal a pseudospin Jeff = 1/2 ( Yb3+) in the Kramers doublet state and a weak antiferromagnetic interaction between Jeff = 1/2 moments in the Yb variant. On the other hand, the effective moment {\mu}eff = 8.8 {\mu}B was obtained from the Curie-Weiss fit of the low-temperature susceptibility data of Er variant suggests the admixture of higher crystal electric field states with the ground state. The Curie-Weiss fit of low-temperature susceptibility data for Er system unveils the presence of a relatively strong antiferromagnetic interaction between Er3+ moments compared to its Yb3+ analog. Ba3ErB9O18 does not show long-range magnetic ordering down to 500 mK. Furthermore, our crystal electric field calculations based on magnetization data of Ba3ErB9O18 suggest the presence of a small gap between the ground and first excited Kramers doublets. The broad maximum around 4 K in magnetic specific heat in zero-field is attributed to the thermal population of the first CEF excited state in Ba3ErB9O18, which is consistent with our CEF calculations

Magnetism and field-induced effect in a spin-orbit entangled Jeff = 1/2 honeycomb lattice

The interplay between spin-orbit coupling, frustration-induced anisotropic magnetic interaction, and spin correlations can lead to novel states with exotic excitations in rare-earth-based quantum magnets. Herein, we present the crystal structure, magnetization, electron spin resonance (ESR), specific heat, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments on the polycrystalline samples of Ba9Yb2Si6O24 in which Yb3+ ions form a perfect honeycomb lattice without detectable anti-site disorder. Magnetization data reveal antiferromagnetically coupled spin-orbit entangled Jeff = 1/2 degrees of freedom of Yb3+ ions in the Kramers doublet state where the Curie-Weiss temperature is - 2.97 K, as obtained from the low-temperature magnetic susceptibility data. The ESR measurements reveal that the first excited Kramers doublet is 32.3(7) meV above the ground state. The specific heat results suggest the presence of an antiferromagnetic phase transition at 2.26 K. The long-range antiferromagnetic order is completely suppressed upon the application of magnetic field and a field-induced disordered state is observed in an applied magnetic field of 2.5 T, which is also confirmed by NMR measurements. Furthermore, the NMR spin-lattice relaxation rate reveals the presence of a field-induced gap that is attributed to the Zeeman splitting of Kramers doublet state in this quantum material. Our experiments suggest the presence of a phase transition and short-range spin correlations appearing well above the antiferromagnetic phase transition temperature and a field-induced disordered state in this spin-orbit entangled Jeff =1/2 rare-earth magnet on a honeycomb lattice

SR9009 administered for one day after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion prevents heart failure in mice by targeting the cardiac inflammasome

Reperfusion of patients after myocardial infarction (heart attack) triggers cardiac inflammation that leads to infarct expansion and heart failure (HF). We previously showed that the circadian mechanism is a critical regulator of reperfusion injury. However, whether pharmacological targeting using circadian medicine limits reperfusion injury and protects against HF is unknown. Here, we show that short-term targeting of the circadian driver REV-ERB with SR9009 benefits long-term cardiac repair post-myocardial ischemia reperfusion in mice. Gain and loss of function studies demonstrate specificity of targeting REV-ERB in mice. Treatment for just one day abates the cardiac NLRP3 inflammasome, decreasing immunocyte recruitment, and thereby allowing the vulnerable infarct to heal. Therapy is given in vivo, after reperfusion, and promotes efficient repair. This study presents downregulation of the cardiac inflammasome in fibroblasts as a cellular target of SR9009, inviting more targeted therapeutic investigations in the future

Experimental signatures of quantum and topological states in frustrated magnetism

Frustration in magnetic materials arising from competing exchange interactions can prevent the system from adopting long-range magnetic order and can instead lead to a diverse range of novel quantum and topological states with exotic quasiparticle excitations. Here, we review prominent examples of such emergent phenomena, including magnetically-disordered and extensively degenerate spin ices, which feature emergent magnetic monopole excitations, highly-entangled quantum spin liquids with fractional spinon excitations, topological order and emergent gauge fields, as well as complex particle-like topological spin textures known as skyrmions. We provide an overview of recent advances in the search for magnetically-disordered candidate materials on the three-dimensional pyrochlore lattice and two-dimensional triangular, kagome and honeycomb lattices, the latter with bond-dependent Kitaev interactions, and on lattices supporting topological magnetism. We highlight experimental signatures of these often elusive phenomena and single out the most suitable experimental techniques that can be used to detect them. Our review also aims at providing a comprehensive guide for designing and investigating novel frustrated magnetic materials, with the potential of addressing some important open questions in contemporary condensed matter physics