String Phase in an Artificial Spin Ice

Xiaoyu Zhang, Ayhan Duzgun, Yuyang Lao, Shayaan Subzwari, Nicholas S. Bingham, Joseph Sklenar, Hilal Saglam, Justin Ramberger, Joseph T. Batley, Justin D. Watts, Daniel Bromley, Rajesh V. Chopdekar, Liam O’Brien, Chris Leighton, Cristiano Nisoli and Peter Schiffer ()
Additional contact information
Xiaoyu Zhang: Yale University
Ayhan Duzgun: Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, MS B258, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Yuyang Lao: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Shayaan Subzwari: Yale University
Nicholas S. Bingham: Yale University
Joseph Sklenar: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Hilal Saglam: Yale University
Justin Ramberger: University of Minnesota
Joseph T. Batley: University of Minnesota
Justin D. Watts: University of Minnesota
Daniel Bromley: University of Liverpool
Rajesh V. Chopdekar: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Liam O’Brien: University of Liverpool
Chris Leighton: University of Minnesota
Cristiano Nisoli: Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, MS B258, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Peter Schiffer: Yale University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract One-dimensional strings of local excitations are a fascinating feature of the physical behavior of strongly correlated topological quantum matter. Here we study strings of local excitations in a classical system of interacting nanomagnets, the Santa Fe Ice geometry of artificial spin ice. We measured the moment configuration of the nanomagnets, both after annealing near the ferromagnetic Curie point and in a thermally dynamic state. While the Santa Fe Ice lattice structure is complex, we demonstrate that its disordered magnetic state is naturally described within a framework of emergent strings. We show experimentally that the string length follows a simple Boltzmann distribution with an energy scale that is associated with the system’s magnetic interactions and is consistent with theoretical predictions. The results demonstrate that string descriptions and associated topological characteristics are not unique to quantum models but can also provide a simplifying description of complex classical systems with non-trivial frustration.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26734-6

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