Spin thermal conductivity of the Haldane chain compound Y2BaNiO5

TL;DR

This study measures the thermal conductivity of Y2BaNiO5, revealing a significant spin-mediated component along the chain direction and analyzing its temperature dependence and scattering effects.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of spin-mediated thermal conductivity in Y2BaNiO5, linking anisotropic transport to spin excitations and impurity scattering.

Findings

Identification of spin-mediated thermal conductivity along the chain

Peak in energy diffusion constant around 120 K

Impurity scattering limits low-temperature conductivity

Abstract

We have measured the thermal conductivity of the spin S=1 chain compound Y2BaNiO5. Analyzing the anisotropy of the thermal transport allows to identify a definite spin-mediated thermal conductivity \kappa_s along the chain direction. The calculated spin-related energy diffusion constant D_E(T) shows a broad peak around 120 K. Close to room temperature, D_E(T) approaches the theoretically predicted high-temperature value, while scattering of spin excitations by magnetic impurities seems to be the major limiting factor of \kappa_s at low temperature.