Dipolar antiferromagnetism and quantum criticality in LiErF₄

Science. 2012 Jun 15;336(6087):1416-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1221878.

Abstract

Magnetism has been predicted to occur in systems in which dipolar interactions dominate exchange. We present neutron scattering, specific heat, and magnetic susceptibility data for LiErF(4), establishing it as a model dipolar-coupled antiferromagnet with planar spin-anisotropy and a quantum phase transition in applied field H(c|| = 4.0 ± 0.1 kilo-oersteds. We discovered non-mean-field critical scaling for the classical phase transition at the antiferromagnetic transition temperature that is consistent with the two-dimensional XY/h(4) universality class; in accord with this, the quantum phase transition at H(c) exhibits three-dimensional classical behavior. The effective dimensional reduction may be a consequence of the intrinsic frustrated nature of the dipolar interaction, which strengthens the role of fluctuations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.