A Field Guide to Spin Liquids

TL;DR

This review discusses the experimental signatures and theoretical models of spin liquids, emphasizing the connection between their topological properties and observable phenomena in candidate materials.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of experimental features and theoretical understanding of spin liquids, aiding in their identification and study.

Findings

Identification of thermodynamic signatures of spin liquids

Spectroscopic evidence for fractionalized particles

Transport measurements indicating emergent gauge fields

Abstract

Spin liquids are collective phases of quantum matter which have eluded discovery in correlated magnetic materials for over half a century. Theoretical models of these enigmatic topological phases are no longer in short supply. In experiment there also exist plenty of promising candidate materials for their realisation. One of the central challenges for the clear diagnosis of a spin liquid has been to connect the two. From that perspective, this review discusses characteristic features in experiment, resulting from the unusual properties of spin liquids. This takes us to thermodynamic, spectroscopic, transport, and other experiments on a search for traces of emergent gauge fields, spinons, Majorana Fermions and other fractionalised particles.