Speaker
Romain Franck Sibille
Description
A correlated liquid state was reported in the cerium stannate pyrochlore Ce2Sn2O7 at temperatures below 1 Kelvin. Its nature remained elusive, but with additional knowledge on the crystal-electric field scheme of cerium, the case was further investigated based on degrees of freedom having both magnetic dipole and magnetic octupole components. These works agree towards a quantum spin ice (QSI) based on a manifold of ice-rule correlated octupoles – a state that was conceptualised by earlier theoretical works. We review the findings reported so far on cerium pyrochlores and present new experimental results that further hint at these materials being representatives of a QSI – the model 3D quantum spin liquid.
Author
Romain Franck Sibille
