Direct observation of the ice rule in artificial kagome spin ice

TL;DR

This study directly observes the ice rule in a fabricated two-dimensional kagome spin ice system, confirming local rules, long-range disorder, and correlations with theoretical models, highlighting the role of dipolar interactions.

Contribution

First direct counting of individual pseudo-spins in artificial kagome spin ice, demonstrating adherence to ice rules and correlations with Monte Carlo simulations.

Findings

Local ice rules are strictly followed in the system.

Spin configurations exhibit long-range disorder.

Dipolar interactions significantly influence the system behavior.

Abstract

Recently, significant interest has emerged in fabricated systems that mimic the behavior of geometrically-frustrated materials. We present the full realization of such an artificial spin ice system on a two-dimensional kagome lattice and demonstrate rigid adherence to the local ice rule by directly counting individual pseudo-spins. The resulting spin configurations show not only local ice rules and long-range disorder, but also correlations consistent with spin ice Monte Carlo calculations. Our results suggest that dipolar corrections are significant in this system, as in pyrochlore spin ice, and they open a door to further studies of frustration in general.