Comment on "Universal Fluctuations in Correlated Systems"

This is a Comment on "Universal Fluctuations in Correlated Systems".Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Dynamic susceptibility and dynamic correlations in spin ice

Here we calculate the dynamic susceptibility and dynamic correlation function in spin ice using the model of emergent magnetic monopoles. Calculations are based on a method originally suggested for the description of dynamic processes in water ice (non-equilibrium thermodynamics approach). We show that for zero temperature the dynamic correlation function reproduces the transverse dipole correlations (static correlation function) characteristic of spin ice in its ground state. At non-zero temperatures the dynamic correlation function includes an additional longitudinal component which decreases as the temperature decreases. Both terms (transverse and longitudinal) exhibit identical Debye-like dependences on frequency but with different relaxation times: the magnetic Coulomb interaction of monopoles reduces the longitudinal relaxation time with respect to the transverse one. We calculate the dielectric function for the magnetic monopole gas and discuss how the non-equilibrium thermodynamics approach exposes corrections to the Debye-Huckel theory of magnetic monopoles and the concept of "entropic charge".Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Dilution effects in Ho2−x_{2-x}Yx_xSn2_2O7_7: from the Spin Ice to the single-ion magnet

A study of the modifications of the magnetic properties of Ho$_{2-x}$Y$_x$Sn$_2$O$_7$ upon varying the concentration of diamagnetic Y$^{3+}$ ions is presented. Magnetization and specific heat measurements show that the Spin Ice ground-state is only weakly affected by doping for $x\leq 0.3$, even if non-negligible changes in the crystal field at Ho$^{3+}$ occur. In this low doping range $\mu$SR relaxation measurements evidence a modification in the low-temperature dynamics with respect to the one observed in the pure Spin Ice. For $x\to 2$, or at high temperature, the dynamics involve fluctuations among Ho$^{3+}$ crystal field levels which give rise to a characteristic peak in $^{119}$Sn nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate. In this doping limit also the changes in Ho$^{3+}$ magnetic moment suggest a variation of the crystal field parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, proceedings of HFM2008 Conferenc

Magnetic frustration in the context of pseudo-dipolar ionic disorder

We consider an alternative to the usual spin glass paradigm for disordered magnetism, consisting of the previously unstudied combination of frustrated magnetic interactions and pseudo-dipolar disorder in spin positions. We argue that this model represents a general limiting case for real systems as well as a realistic model for certain binary fluorides and oxides. Furthermore, it is of great relevance to the highly topical subjects of the Coulomb phase and `charge ice'. We derive an analytical solution for the ground state phase diagram of a model system constructed in this paradigm and identify magnetic phases that remain either disordered or partially ordered even at zero temperature. These phases are of a hitherto unobserved type, but may be broadly classified as either `spin liquids' or `semi-spin liquids' in contrast to the usual spin glass or semi-spin glass. Numerical simulations are used to show that the spin liquid phase exhibits no spin glass transition at finite temperature, despite the combination of frustration and disorder. By mapping onto a model of uncoupled loops of Ising spins, we show that the magnetic structure factor of this phase acts, in the limit $T\rightarrow0$, as a sensitive probe of the positional disorder correlations. We suggest that this result can be generalized to more complex systems, including experimental realizations of canonical spin glass models.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Submitted to EP

Universal Fluctuations of the Danube Water Level: a Link with Turbulence, Criticality and Company Growth

A global quantity, regardless of its precise nature, will often fluctuate according to a Gaussian limit distribution. However, in highly correlated systems, other limit distributions are possible. We have previously calculated one such distribution and have argued that this function should apply specifically, and in many instances, to global quantities that define a steady state. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, the relevance of this prediction to natural phenomena. The river level fluctuations of the Danube are observed to obey our prediction, which immediately establishes a generic statistical connection between turbulence, criticality and company growth statistics.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Metal-insulator transition caused by the coupling to localized charge-frustrated systems under ice-rule local constraint

We report the results of our theoretical and numerical study on electronic and transport properties of fermion systems with charge frustration. We consider an extended Falicov-Kimball model in which itinerant spinless fermions interact repulsively by U with localized particles whose distribution satisfies a local constraint under geometrical frustration, the so-called ice rule. We numerically calculate the density of states, optical conductivity, and inverse participation ratio for the models on the pyrochlore, checkerboard, and kagome lattices, and discuss the nature of metal-insulator transitions at commensurate fillings. As a result, we show that the ice-rule local constraint leads to several universal features in the electronic structure; a charge gap opens at a considerably small U compared to the bandwidth, and the energy spectrum approaches a characteristic form in the large U limit, that is, the noninteracting tight-binding form in one dimension or the $\delta$-functional peak. In the large U region, the itinerant fermions are confined in the macroscopically-degenerate ice-rule configurations, which consist of a bunch of one-dimensional loops: We call this insulating state the charge ice. On the other hand, transport properties are much affected by the geometry and dimensionality of lattices; e.g., the pyrochlore lattice model exhibits a transition from a metallic to the charge-ice insulating state by increasing U, while the checkerboard lattice model appears to show Anderson localization before opening a gap. Meanwhile, in the kagome lattice case, we do not obtain clear evidence of Anderson localization. Our results elucidate the universality and diversity of phase transitions to the charge-ice insulator in fully frustrated lattices.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figure

Quantum melting of charge ice and non-Fermi-liquid behavior: An exact solution for the extended Falicov-Kimball model in the ice-rule limit

An exact solution is obtained for a model of itinerant electrons coupled to ice-rule variables on the tetrahedron Husimi cactus, an analogue of the Bethe lattice of corner-sharing tetrahedra. It reveals a quantum critical point with the emergence of non-Fermi-liquid behavior in melting of the "charge ice" insulator. The electronic structure is compared with the numerical results for the pyrochlore-lattice model to elucidate the physics of electron systems interacting with the tetrahedron ice rule.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure