Manifestation of magnetic quantum fluctuations in the dielectric properties of a multiferroic

Jae Wook Kim, Seunghyun Khim, Sae Hwan Chun, Y. Jo, L. Balicas, H. T. Yi, S.-W. Cheong, N. Harrison, C. D. Batista, Jung Hoon Han and Kee Hoon Kim ()
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Jae Wook Kim: CeNSCMR, Seoul National University
Seunghyun Khim: CeNSCMR, Seoul National University
Sae Hwan Chun: CeNSCMR, Seoul National University
Y. Jo: National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL), Florida State University
L. Balicas: National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL), Florida State University
H. T. Yi: Rutgers University
S.-W. Cheong: Rutgers University
N. Harrison: NHMFL, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
C. D. Batista: LANL
Jung Hoon Han: Sungkyunkwan University
Kee Hoon Kim: CeNSCMR, Seoul National University

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Insulating magnets can display novel signatures of quantum fluctuations as similar to the case of metallic magnets. However, their weak spin-lattice coupling has made such observations challenging. Here we find that antiferromagnetic (AF) quantum fluctuations manifest in the dielectric properties of multiferroic Ba2CoGe2O7, where a ferroelectric polarization develops concomitant to an AF ordering. Upon application of a magnetic field (H), dielectric constant shows a characteristic power-law dependence near absolute zero temperature and close to the critical field Hc=37.1 T due to enhanced AF quantum fluctuations. When H>Hc, the dielectric constant shows the temperature-dependent anomalies that reflect a crossover from a field-tuned quantum critical to a gapped spin-polarized state. We uncover theoretically that a linear relation between AF susceptibility and dielectric constant stems from the generic magnetoelectric coupling and directly explains the experimental findings, opening a new pathway for studying quantum criticality in condensed matter.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5419

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