Measurement of the charge and current of magnetic monopoles in spin ice

S. T. Bramwell (), S. R. Giblin, S. Calder, R. Aldus, D. Prabhakaran and T. Fennell
Additional contact information
S. T. Bramwell: University College London, 17–19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH, UK
S. R. Giblin: ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, UK
S. Calder: University College London, 17–19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH, UK
R. Aldus: University College London, 17–19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH, UK
D. Prabhakaran: Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK
T. Fennell: Institut Laue-Langevin, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, 38042 Grenoble, France

Nature, 2009, vol. 461, issue 7266, 956-959

Abstract: 'Magnetricity' demonstrated in spin ice Electric charges and currents are ubiquitous, but their magnetic counterparts are elusive. With the recent prediction, then demonstration, of the existence of magnetic 'monopoles' — particles with a net magnetic charge resembling a magnet with only one pole — in magnetically frustrated materials called 'spin ice', a system in which 'magnetricity' might be found has become available. Using the spin ice dysprosium titanate pyrochlore (Dy2Ti2O7), Bramwell et al. show that magnetic charges and their dynamics can be understood in terms of a magnetic analogue of the theory of electrolytes (substances that become ions in solution and are capable of conducting electricity). They observe real magnetic currents and determine the elementary unit of magnetic charge. The findings establish an instance of a perfect symmetry between electricity and magnetism.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08500

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