Thermal Conductivity and Specific Heat of the Spin-Ice Compound Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$: Experimental Evidence for Monopole Heat Transport

TL;DR

This study provides experimental evidence that magnetic monopoles in the spin-ice compound Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ contribute to heat transport, with magnetic thermal conductivity strongly dependent on magnetic field and temperature.

Contribution

First direct experimental demonstration of monopole-mediated heat transport in a spin-ice material, highlighting high monopole mobility at low temperatures.

Findings

Magnetic heat transport observed in Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$

Magnetic thermal conductivity depends on magnetic field and magnetization

High monopole mobility below 1 K

Abstract

Elementary excitations in the spin-ice compound Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ can be described as magnetic monopoles propagating independently within the pyrochlore lattice formed by magnetic Dy ions. We studied the magnetic-field dependence of the thermal conductivity {\kappa}(B) for B || [001] and observe clear evidence for magnetic heat transport originating from the monopole excitations. The magnetic contribution {\kappa}_{mag} is strongly field-dependent and correlates with the magnetization M(B). The diffusion coefficient obtained from the ratio of {\kappa}_{mag} and the magnetic specific heat is strongly enhanced below 1 K indicating a high mobility of the monopole excitations in the spin-ice state.