A research group * by Assistant Professor Meng Yamamoto of Tohoku University has conducted synchrotron radiation, theoretical calculations, and ultra-low temperature physical property measurements to determine that henmilite produced in Okayama Prefecture is a magnetic material with strong quantum mechanical fluctuations. Found using.It is expected to be applied to quantum computers.
Its magnetism has been of interest because the diverse crystal structures of natural minerals lead to a variety of properties.More than 140 kinds of new minerals have been discovered in Japan, but there are few examples of physical property research from the viewpoint of solid-state physics due to the scarcity of samples.Henmilite is a representative new mineral from Japan that is produced only at the Fuka mine in Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture.The crystals are dark blue and violet, and the divalent copper ions responsible for magnetism form a distorted two-dimensional square lattice, so the research group focused on it as a magnetic material with low dimensions.
This time, synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction revealed that henmilite has a crystal structure different from that reported in the past.From the determined crystal structure and theoretical calculations based on it, it was found that henmilite has the property of a magnetic spin lattice in which quantum mechanical fluctuations (fluctuations of magnetic spin due to quantum mechanical effects rather than heat) strongly appear.
When the magnetization was measured and the specific heat was measured up to an extremely low temperature, Izumiishi had a force (antiferromagnetic interaction) in which adjacent magnetic spins tried to line up in antiparallel, but the absolute temperature was 0.2 degrees in a zero magnetic field. And until the very low temperature, the magnetic order in which the spins were aligned did not occur.It is thought that the quantum mechanical fluctuations caused by the crystal structure of henmilite and the geometric features of the magnetic spin lattice suppressed the ordering of magnetic spins.
This research was conducted from a new perspective of focusing on "new minerals from Japan", which are rare and have few examples of magnetic research.In the future, it is expected to be applied to quantum computers and discover new physical phenomena.
* In addition, Okayama University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, University of Fukui, and Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Industrial Technology are participating.
Paper information:[Physical Review Materials] Quantum spin fluctuations and hydrogen bond network in the antiferromagnetic natural mineral henmilite
