2025/09/11 by Edwin Kermarrec, Kermarrec, Edwin, Daniel Lozano-Gómez +24 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.09189
We report low-temperature magnetization and magnetostriction measurements on the dipole-octupole pyrochlore Ce2Hf2O7, revealing an unconventional field response for \mathbf B∥[111]. The magnetization shows no kagome-ice plateau; instead it evolves continuously and exhibits two rapid changes in slope near 0.35~T and 1.2~T, accompanied by magnetostriction features at the same field scales. Classical Monte Carlo simulations, exact diagonalization, and ground-state analysis of the Hamiltonian show that a representative QSI-compatible parameter set captures the data. For this parameter set, the lower-field anomaly marks a closely spaced transition sequence from a two-color kagome spin liquid (KSL) through a narrow three-color KSL into a mixed two-/three-color KSL, while the upper-field anomaly marks the transition from the mixed KSL into a nearly polarized state. These results identify Ce2Hf2O7, and dipole-octupole pyrochlore magnets more broadly, as promising platforms for exotic KSLs beyond conventional spin ice.