Thermodynamic Properties of Kagome Lattice in ZnCu_3(OH)_6Cl_2 Herbertsmithite

TL;DR

This paper investigates the thermodynamic properties of herbertsmithite ZnCu_3(OH)_6Cl_2, revealing its behavior as a strongly correlated Fermi system near a quantum critical spin liquid, with results aligning with experimental data.

Contribution

It demonstrates that herbertsmithite can be modeled as a strongly correlated Fermi system exhibiting quantum critical behavior, providing a theoretical framework consistent with experimental observations.

Findings

Thermodynamic properties match experimental data

Scaling behavior similar to heavy fermion metals and 2D helium-3

Herbertsmithite exhibits quantum critical spin liquid characteristics

Abstract

Strongly correlated Fermi systems are among the most intriguing and fundamental systems in physics, whose realization in some compounds is still to be discovered. We show that herbertsmithite ZnCu_3(OH)_6Cl_2 can be viewed as a strongly correlated Fermi system whose low temperature thermodynamic in magnetic fields is defined by a quantum critical spin liquid. Our calculations of its thermodynamic properties are in good agreement with recent experimental facts and allow us to reveal their scaling behavior which strongly resembles that observed in HF metals and 2D 3He.