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Published on: May 30, 2014
Hearing the Light: Stray-Field Noise from the Emergent Photon in Quantum Spin Ice
Gautam K Naik1, Jonathan N Hallén1,2, Nishan C Jayarama1
1Boston University, Department of Physics, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
Abstract:
Decisive experimental confirmation of the U(1) quantum spin liquid phase in quantum spin ice remains an outstanding challenge. In this Letter, we propose stray-field magnetometry as a direct probe of the emergent photons-the gapless excitation of the emergent electrodynamics in quantum spin ice. The emergent photons are transverse magnetization waves, which, in a finite sample, form discrete modes governed by one of two sets of natural boundary conditions: "insulating" or "superconducting." Considering cavity and thin film geometries, we find that the spectrum and spatial structure of the stray magnetic noise provide a sharp qualitative signature of the underlying electrodynamics. The predicted stray-field noise power lies comfortably within the detection range of present-day solid-state defect magnetometry.
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