Andrea Bianchi, a physics professor at the University of Montreal, and his team has discovered a new quantum state of matter for the first time. In a magnetic substance named Ce2Zr2O7, which is made up of cerium, zirconium, and oxygen, the team discovered a “quantum spin liquid ground state”.

Figure 1: a new quantum state of matter found for the first time.

Figure 1 shows that Spin is an important feature in quantum physics that influences electron ordering.

Spin causes a disorganized structure comparable to that of molecules in some materials, and, hence, the term “spin liquid”. Because the direction of spin continues to fluctuate as the material cools, spin liquids remain disorganized. This is alike stabilizing in a solid state as in a conventional magnet, where all the spins are aligned. [1]

As the temperature of the material increases, it becomes more disorganized. Spin liquids, on the other hand, have the property of remaining disorganized even when cooled to absolute zero (–273°C / –459.67°F).

Unlike traditional magnets, the electrons of quantum spin liquids are arranged in a triangular lattice and form a “threesome” with strong turbulence disrupting their order. There is no magnetic order due to the entangled wave function.

In contrast, the electron spins are all oriented in the same direction in traditional magnets, forming a ferromagnetic phase.

Bianchi said the electron spins cannot align when a third electron is introduced because the two surrounding electrons must always have opposite spins, causing magnetic frustration. Even at very low temperature, this generates excitations which preserve the spin disorder and therefore the liquid state. [2]

It was this near-perfect triangle that enabled Bianchi and his team to create magnetic frustration in Ce2Zr2O7. Researchers measured the compound’s magnetic diffusion.

“Our measurements showed an overlapping particle function—therefore no Bragg peaks—a clear sign of the absence of classical magnetic order,” said Bianchi.

“We also observed a distribution of spins with continuously fluctuating directions, which is characteristic of spin liquids and magnetic frustration. This indicates that the material we created behaves like a true spin liquid at low temperatures.” [3]

Scientists confirmed they were witnessing a quantum state never seen before after verifying their observations with computer simulations. [2]

References:

1. https://gadgets360.com/science/news/quantum-state-of-matter-first-time-unusual-made-of-cerium-zirconium-oxygen-magnetic-substance-spin-liquid-3003965
2. https://www.uktimenews.com/an-unusual-quantum-state-of-matter-observed-for-the-first-time/
3. https://technologytimes.pk/2022/05/25/weird-quantum-state-of-matter-observed-first-time/

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), Researchers Discovered a New Quantum State of Matter for the First Time, Anatechmaz, pp. 326