Thermal Conductivity due to Spinons in the One-Dimensional Quantum Spin System Sr2V3O9

TL;DR

This study measures directional thermal conductivity in Sr2V3O9, revealing significant spinon contributions along specific directions and their suppression under magnetic fields, highlighting the role of spin chains in heat transport.

Contribution

First direct measurement of directional thermal conductivity in Sr2V3O9 showing spinon contributions and their magnetic field dependence.

Findings

Thermal conductivity along [10-1] is large and field-sensitive.

Maximum spinon thermal conductivity is ~14 W/Km.

Spin chains run along the [10-1] direction.

Abstract

We have measured the thermal conductivity along different directions of the S = 1/2 one-dimensional (1D) spin system Sr2V3O9 in magnetic fields up to 14 T. It has been found that the thermal conductivity along the [10-1] direction, \k{appa}[10-1], is large and markedly suppressed by the application of magnetic field, indicating that there is a large contribution of spinons to \k{appa}[10-1] and that the spin chains run along the [10-1] direction. The maximum value of the thermal conductivity due to spinons is ~14 W/Km along the [10-1] direction, supporting the empirical law that the magnitude of the thermal conductivity due to spinons is roughly proportional to the antiferromagnetic interaction between the nearest neighboring spins.