Short-range order and hidden energy scale in geometrically frustrated magnets

TL;DR

This paper reviews how geometrically frustrated magnets exhibit a hidden energy scale that influences their short-range order and spin-glass transition, highlighting the complex interplay of disorder and quantum states.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of a hidden energy scale in GF magnets and discusses its role in short-range order and spin-glass behavior, supported by experimental data analysis.

Findings

GF magnets have a hidden energy scale exceeding other microscopic energies.

Short-range order develops below this hidden energy scale.

Impurities influence the spin-glass transition temperature.

Abstract

In geometrically frustrated (GF) magnets, conventional long-range order is suppressed due to the presence of primitive triangular structural units, and the nature of the ensuing ground state remains elusive. One class of candidate states, extensively sought in experiments and vigorously studied theoretically, is the quantum spin liquid (QSL), a magnetically-disordered state in which all spins participate in a quantum-coherent many-body state. Randomly located impurities, present in all materials, may prevent QSL formation and instead lead to the formation of a spin-glass state. In this article, we review available data on the specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, and neutron scattering in GF materials. Such data show that a pure GF magnet possesses a characteristic ``hidden energy scale'' significantly exceeded by the other microscopic energy scales in the material. When cooled down to a temperature below the hidden energy scale, a GF material develops significant short-range order that dominates its properties and, in particular, dictates the spin-glass transition temperature for experimentally accessible impurity densities. We review the manifestations of short-range order in the commonly observed thermodynamics quantities in GF materials, possible scenarios for the hidden energy scale, and related open questions.