Low-temperature thermal Hall conductivity of Pr2Zr2O7 single crystal

TL;DR

This study investigates low-temperature thermal Hall and thermal conductivity in Pr2Zr2O7 single crystals, revealing magnetic excitations like monopoles and spinons influence heat transport, with implications for quantum spin ice physics.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of magnetic monopoles and spinons affecting thermal transport in Pr2Zr2O7, a quantum spin ice candidate, through detailed measurements of thermal conductivities under magnetic fields.

Findings

Magnetic monopoles can carry heat at T > 1.4 K.

Spinons mainly scatter phonons at lower temperatures.

Finite thermal Hall conductivity observed at low magnetic fields.

Abstract

To probe the peculiar excitations spinons and magnetic monopoles in the quantum spin ice candidate Pr2Zr2O7, we studied the low-temperature thermal Hall conductivity (\k{appa}xy) and thermal conductivity (\k{appa}xx) of Pr2Zr2O7 single crystal with magnetic fields applied along the [111] axis. The magnetic field dependencies of \k{appa}xx suggest the roles of magnetic excitations in thermal conductivity, that is, the emergent magnetic monopoles can transport heat at T > 1.4 K and spinons mainly scatter phonons at lower temperatures. The finite \k{appa}xy was observed at low fields of several Tesla and was discussed to be related to the magnetic excitations, including magnetic monopoles as well as spinons.