Power spectrum of magnetic relaxation in spin ice: anomalous diffusion in a Coulomb fluid

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic monopole diffusion in spin ice Dy${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$, revealing temperature-dependent anomalous diffusion behavior up to 20 K through advanced susceptibility measurements.

Contribution

It provides the first accurate estimation of the anomalous exponent $b(T)$ in the 2-20 K range, clarifying previous discrepancies and highlighting sample dependence.

Findings

Deviations from Brownian motion ($b=2$) are observed up to 20 K.

Previous noise measurements underestimated the exponent $b(T)$.

Sample dependence affects the diffusion behavior and the role of crystal defects.

Abstract

Magnetization noise measurements on the spin ice Dy${}_2$Ti${}_2$O${}_7$ have revealed a remarkable `pink noise' power spectrum $S(f,T)$ below 4 K, including evidence of magnetic monopole excitations diffusing in a fractal landscape. However, at higher temperatures, the reported values of the anomalous exponent $b(T)$ describing the high frequency tail of $S(f,T)$ are not easy to reconcile with other results in the literature, which generally suggest significantly smaller deviations from the Brownian motion value of $b=2$, that become negligible above $T=20$ K. We accurately estimate $b(T)$ at temperatures between 2~K and 20~K, using a.c. susceptibility measurements that, crucially, stretch up to the relatively high frequency of $f = 10^6$ Hz. We show that previous noise measurements underestimate $b(T)$ and we suggest reasons for this. Our results establish deviations in $b(T)$ from $b=2$ up to about 20 K. However studies on different samples confirms that $b(T)$ is sample dependent: the details of this dependence agree in part, though not completely, with previous studies of the effect of crystal defects on monopole population and diffusion. Our results establish the form of $b(T)$ which characterises the subtle, and evolving, nature of monopole diffusion in the dense Coulomb fluid, a highly correlated state, where several dynamical processes combine. They do not rule out the importance of a fractal landscape picture emerging at lower temperatures where the monopole gas is dilute.