Kagom\'{e} ice state in the dipolar spin ice Dy_{2}Ti_{2}O_{7}

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that Dy_{2}Ti_{2}O_{7} exhibits kagomé ice behavior under a [111] magnetic field, with neutron scattering and simulations confirming the persistence of frustration and spin freezing in a dipolar spin ice system.

Contribution

It provides experimental and simulation evidence that kagomé ice behavior occurs in dipolar spin ice, extending the understanding beyond nearest-neighbor models.

Findings

Kagomé ice behavior observed in dipolar spin ice Dy_{2}Ti_{2}O_{7}.

Spin freezing occurs at low temperatures within degenerate ground states.

Dimensional reduction and frustration confirmed in the dipolar system.

Abstract

We have investigated the kagom\'{e} ice behavior of the dipolar spin-ice compound Dy_{2}Ti_{2}O_{7} in magnetic field along a [111] direction using neutron scattering and Monte Carlo simulations. The spin correlations show that the kagom\'{e} ice behavior predicted for the nearest-neighbor (NN) interacting model, where the field induces dimensional reduction and spins are frustrated in each two-dimensional kagom\'{e} lattice, occurs in the dipole interacting system. The spins freeze at low temperatures within the macroscopically degenerate ground states of the NN model.