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Emergent Strings in Santa Fe Artificial Spin Ice

ORAL

Abstract

Artificial spin ice systems are two-dimensional arrays of interacting ferromagnetic nanoislands with uniaxial single-domain magnetization. By carefully designing the geometry of these arrays, some systems show collective phenomena associated with emergent higher-order frustration. Here we report a study on the Santa Fe Ice (SFI) system, which has an intrinsic population of excited vertices built into the geometry. Its magnetic configuration can be represented via emergent “strings” that connect all excited vertices, and thus moment fluctuations can be understood through the strings’ kinetics. SFI is predicted to have either a disordered ground state or a long-range ordered ground state associated with the distribution of excited vertices, depending on the local interactions. We have performed a magnetic force microscopy study on SFI after annealing near the Curie temperature and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) measurements on thermally active SFI. Our results indicate that SFI represents an unusual instance of emergent topological complexity.

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Presenters

  • Xiaoyu Zhang

    Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, Yale University

Authors

  • Xiaoyu Zhang

    Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, Yale University

  • Ayhan Duzgun

    Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Yuyang Lao

    Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • Nicholas Bingham

    Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, Yale University

  • Joseph N Sklenar

    Wayne State University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University

  • Hilal Saglam

    Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Applied Physics, Yale University, Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, Yale University

  • Rajesh Chopdekar

    Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab, Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Advance Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  • Shayaan Subzwari

    Yale University

  • Joseph Batley

    School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota

  • Justin Watts

    School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota

  • Daniel Bromley

    University of Liverpool, Liverpool

  • Chris Leighton

    University of Minnesota, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota

  • Liam O'Brien

    University of Liverpool, Liverpool

  • Cristiano Nisoli

    Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Lab, Los Alamos Natl Lab, Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Peter Schiffer

    Yale University, Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, Department of Applied Physics and Department of Physics, Yale University