English

Random singlet physics in the $S = \frac{1}{2}$ pyrochlore antiferromagnet NaCdCu$_2$F$_7$

Strongly Correlated Electrons 2026-03-11 v2

Abstract

We report a random singlet ground state in the S=12S=\frac{1}{2} Heisenberg pyrochlore antiferromagnet NaCdCu2_2F7_7. Cationic Na+^+/Cd2+^{2+} disorder on the pyrochlore AA site generates a broad distribution of Cu2+^{2+}--F^---Cu2+^{2+} exchange couplings, introducing intrinsic magnetic bond disorder. Despite strong antiferromagnetic interactions (θCW=72\theta_{\mathrm{CW}}=-72~K), no magnetic order or global spin freezing is observed in DC and AC susceptibility, specific heat or 23^{23}Na nuclear magnetic resonance to 120 mK, with muon spin relaxation experiments confirming persistent spin dynamics to 58 mK. TT-linear specific heat, a Curie-like susceptibility tail, and power-law scaling with data collapse in χ(T)\chi(T), M(H)M(H), Cmag/TC_{\mathrm{mag}}/T, 23^{23}Na (1/T1T)(1/T_1T) and the muon spin polarization P(t)P(t) reveal a disorder-driven network of random singlets and orphan spins. Scaling across multiple bulk and local probes is consistent with a broad distribution of exchange energies, P[J]JαP[\mathcal{J}] \sim \mathcal{J}^{-\alpha}. This behavior contrasts with previously-studied NaAB2A''B_2F7_7 pyrochlore fluorides, where magnetic bond disorder precipitates spin-glass freezing, underscoring the crucial role of strong S=12S=\frac{1}{2} quantum fluctuations in NaCdCu2_2F7_7.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.20199,
  title  = {Random singlet physics in the $S = \frac{1}{2}$ pyrochlore antiferromagnet NaCdCu$_2$F$_7$},
  author = {Andrej Kancko and Hironori Sakai and Cinthia Antunes Corrêa and Petr Proschek and Jan Prokleška and Tetiana Haidamak and Marc Uhlarz and Adam Berlie and Yo Tokunaga and Ross Harvey Colman},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.20199},
  year   = {2026}
}