Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice

We study phase transitions in classical spin ice at nonzero magnetization, by introducing a mean-field theory designed to capture the interplay between confinement and topological constraints. The method is applied to a model of spin ice in an applied magnetic field along the [1 0 0] crystallographi...

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Main Author: Powell, Stephen
Format: Article
Published: IOP 2017
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40678/
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author Powell, Stephen
author_facet Powell, Stephen
author_sort Powell, Stephen
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description We study phase transitions in classical spin ice at nonzero magnetization, by introducing a mean-field theory designed to capture the interplay between confinement and topological constraints. The method is applied to a model of spin ice in an applied magnetic field along the [1 0 0] crystallographic direction and yields a phase diagram containing the Coulomb phase as well as a set of magnetization plateaux. We argue that the lobe structure of the phase diagram, strongly reminiscent of the Bose–Hubbard model, is generic to Coulomb spin liquids.
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spelling nottingham-406782020-05-04T18:34:13Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40678/ Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice Powell, Stephen We study phase transitions in classical spin ice at nonzero magnetization, by introducing a mean-field theory designed to capture the interplay between confinement and topological constraints. The method is applied to a model of spin ice in an applied magnetic field along the [1 0 0] crystallographic direction and yields a phase diagram containing the Coulomb phase as well as a set of magnetization plateaux. We argue that the lobe structure of the phase diagram, strongly reminiscent of the Bose–Hubbard model, is generic to Coulomb spin liquids. IOP 2017-02-20 Article PeerReviewed Powell, Stephen (2017) Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 50 (12). p. 124001. ISSN 1751-8121 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1751-8121/aa5bc6/meta doi:10.1088/1751-8121/aa5bc6 doi:10.1088/1751-8121/aa5bc6
spellingShingle Powell, Stephen
Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice
title Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice
title_full Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice
title_fullStr Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice
title_full_unstemmed Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice
title_short Mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice
title_sort mean-field theory for confinement transitions and magnetization plateaux in spin ice
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40678/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40678/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40678/