# Higgs mode and its decay in a two dimensional antiferromagnet

## TL;DR

This study reports the first direct observation of a dispersive Higgs mode in a two-dimensional antiferromagnet, revealing its decay into Goldstone modes using neutron scattering, and provides a minimal model for its dynamics.

## Contribution

The paper demonstrates the existence and decay of the Higgs mode in a 2D antiferromagnet, establishing a new experimental platform for studying Higgs dynamics in condensed matter.

## Key findings

- Discovered a well-defined Higgs mode in Ca$_2$RuO$_4$
- Mapped the decay of the Higgs mode into Goldstone modes
- Provided a minimal model Hamiltonian for the system

## Abstract

Condensed-matter analogs of the Higgs boson in particle physics allow insights into its behavior in different symmetries and dimensionalities. Evidence for the Higgs mode has been reported in a number of different settings, including ultracold atomic gases, disordered superconductors, and dimerized quantum magnets. However, decay processes of the Higgs mode (which are eminently important in particle physics) have not yet been studied in condensed matter due to the lack of a suitable material system coupled to a direct experimental probe. A quantitative understanding of these processes is particularly important for low-dimensional systems where the Higgs mode decays rapidly and has remained elusive to most experimental probes. Here, we discover and study the Higgs mode in a two-dimensional antiferromagnet using spin-polarized inelastic neutron scattering. Our spin-wave spectra of Ca$_2$RuO$_4$ directly reveal a well-defined, dispersive Higgs mode, which quickly decays into transverse Goldstone modes at the antiferromagnetic ordering wavevector. Through a complete mapping of the transverse modes in the reciprocal space, we uniquely specify the minimal model Hamiltonian and describe the decay process. We thus establish a novel condensed matter platform for research on the dynamics of the Higgs mode.