# Metallic Spin Liquid-like Behavior of LiV$_2$O$_4$

## TL;DR

This paper investigates the anomalous spin dynamics of LiV$_2$O$_4$, revealing a duality in spin susceptibility and suggesting a metallic spin liquid state near a quantum critical point, which explains its heavy fermion-like behavior.

## Contribution

It models the dual nature of spin susceptibility in LiV$_2$O$_4$ and links its unusual properties to a metallic spin liquid state near a quantum critical point.

## Key findings

- Duality in spin susceptibility modeled as itinerant and local components
- Local spin dynamics differ from bulk properties
- Presence of marginal Fermi liquid behavior below $T_K$

## Abstract

LiV$_2$O$_4$ spinel is known to exhibit heavy fermion-like behavior below a characteristic temperature $T_K\simeq 20$ K, while it preserves a paramagnetic state down to $T\sim10^{-2}$ K due to geometrical frustration. Here, it is shown that the dynamical spin susceptibility $\chi({\bf q},\omega)$ in LiV$_2$O$_4$ exhibits anomalous duality which is modeled as a sum of itinerant ($\chi_{\rm F}$) and local ($\chi_{\rm L}$) components,and that the local spin dynamics inferred from $\chi_{\rm L}({\bf q},\omega)$ is qualitatively different from that expected from time-averaged bulk properties. The anomaly coexists with the marginal Fermi liquid behavior inferred from the $-\ln T$ dependence of the electronic specific heat over a wide temperature range below $T_K$. We argue that such unusual properties of LiV$_2$O$_4$ can be attributed to the putative metallic spin liquid state emerging near the quantum critical point between spin glass and Fermi liquid states.