2025/10/23 by I. Ishant, Ishant, I., Z. Guguchia +7
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #FOS: Physical sciences #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Rare-earth and actinide compounds #Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2510.20204
openalex publication_date 2025/10/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
A field-induced quantum spin liquid (QSL) state is an extraordinary phenomenon, hitherto unobserved in metallic frustrated compounds. Recent bulk measurements have revealed intriguing field-induced magnetic states in metallic frustrated CePdAl. However, the nature of these field-induced states, potentially including a QSL state, remains unclear due to the lack of detailed microscopic investigation. To elucidate these field-induced states, we employed the transverse-field muon spin relaxation/rotation (TF-μSR) technique, applying various magnetic fields parallel to the c-axis in single-crystalline CePdAl over a broad temperature range (100~K-100~mK). Our μSR data indicate that field-induced low-temperature states for fields B≤ Bc2(=3.4~T) exhibit long-range magnetic order, whereas for B>Bc2 they yield contrasting behavior. Notably, at 3.75 T, the transverse relaxation rate (λT) diverges following a power-law dependence below 800~mK along with an indication of finite frustration, whereas the Knight shift is temperature independent. These observations corroborate the signature of a critical spin-liquid (CSL) with antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations. Furthermore, at 4.3 T, a non-Fermi liquid state is observed where frustration is absent. This comprehensive microscopic study strongly suggests the existence of a CSL state in a metallic frustrated system.