New 'Half-Ice, Half-Fire' Phase of Matter Found Lurking in a Magnet
In a magnetic compound last decade, an exotic state of matter was discovered to be hiding inside another unusual state.
Brookhaven National Laboratory physicists Weiguo Yin, Christopher Roth, and Alexei Tsvelik discovered what they called a "half-fire, half-ice" phase of spin-states in Sr3CuIrO6, a mixture of strontium, copper, iridium, and oxygen, in 2016.
They have now discovered the opposite: a phase that is half fire and half ice, where the electrons in two distinct structures switch characteristics.
The idea of frustration, which describes interactions between nearby particles, is crucial to the discovery. If one component of the puzzle is altered, the behavior may vary as a result of a phase shift.
Brookhaven National Laboratory physicists Weiguo Yin, Christopher Roth, and Alexei Tsvelik discovered what they called a "half-fire, half-ice" phase of spin-states in Sr3CuIrO6, a mixture of strontium, copper, iridium, and oxygen, in 2016.
They have now discovered the opposite: a phase that is half fire and half ice, where the electrons in two distinct structures switch characteristics.
The idea of frustration, which describes interactions between nearby particles, is crucial to the discovery. If one component of the puzzle is altered, the behavior may vary as a result of a phase shift.
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The spins of electrons on a lattice of copper atoms are disorganized like the flickering flames of an inferno in the team's half-fire, half-ice substance. The iridium sites have a higher magnetic force because they are locked in situ.
According to a mathematical standard of phase shifting, it appeared impossible to get this arrangement to budge. However, a crucial discovery has enabled the scientists to identify a distinct temperature shift that completely reverses the condition.
The key to releasing Sr3CuIrO6's potential for quantum information science and microelectronics is its reversibility, which is the breakthrough that Yin and Tsevik were searching for.
According to a mathematical standard of phase shifting, it appeared impossible to get this arrangement to budge. However, a crucial discovery has enabled the scientists to identify a distinct temperature shift that completely reverses the condition.
The key to releasing Sr3CuIrO6's potential for quantum information science and microelectronics is its reversibility, which is the breakthrough that Yin and Tsevik were searching for.
"Finding new states with exotic physical properties – and being able to understand and control the transitions between those states – are central problems in the fields of condensed matter physics and materials science," explains Yin.
"Solving those problems could lead to great advances in technologies like quantum computing and spintronics."
Magnetic materials come in a variety of shapes. All of the particles' spins are oriented in the same direction in a typical ferromagnetic substance, like iron. Two spin states are present in a ferrimagnet, such as Sr3CuIrO6.
"Solving those problems could lead to great advances in technologies like quantum computing and spintronics."
Magnetic materials come in a variety of shapes. All of the particles' spins are oriented in the same direction in a typical ferromagnetic substance, like iron. Two spin states are present in a ferrimagnet, such as Sr3CuIrO6.
It is particularly stunning that an external magnetic field can generate the unusual, half-fire, half ice phase, as described in the team's 2024 report of their 2016 finding. The iridium spins organize themselves like soldiers at attention, while the copper spins collapse into a chaotic mess.
On its own, that isn't really helpful, but it is rather intriguing. For example, qubits—the fundamental building blocks of quantum computing—can be based on electron spins, but those spins must be able to show the various binary system values. Furthermore, qubits with manipulable spins, or tunable qubits, are much more beneficial.
On its own, that isn't really helpful, but it is rather intriguing. For example, qubits—the fundamental building blocks of quantum computing—can be based on electron spins, but those spins must be able to show the various binary system values. Furthermore, qubits with manipulable spins, or tunable qubits, are much more beneficial.
"Despite our extensive research, we still didn't know how this state could be utilized, especially because it has been well known for one century that the one-dimensional Ising model, an established mathematical model of ferromagnetism that produces the half-fire, half-ice state, does not host a finite-temperature phase transition," Tsvelik says.
"We were missing pieces of the puzzle."
"We were missing pieces of the puzzle."
Those pieces have come together in the team's new work. They discovered that, within a very narrow, finite temperature range lurks a hidden twin to half-fire, half-ice; that is, half-ice, half-fire, in which the copper becomes ordered and the iridium falls into disarray.
This doesn't just open up avenues for future research into hidden phases and their transitions; it also means that the phase change can be tightly controlled, opening up an entire realm of potential quantum applications.
It's important to note, however, that this is just a step in the journey.
"Next, we are going to explore the fire-ice phenomenon in systems with quantum spins and with additional lattice, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom," Yin says. "The door to new possibilities is now wide open."
The research has been published in Physical Review Letters.
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