10.5061/DRYAD.JDFN2Z3C2
Zhang, Xiaoyu
0000-0002-3477-0287
Yale University
Duzgun, Ayhan
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Lao, Yuyang
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Subzwari, Shayaan
Yale University
Bingham, Nicholas
Yale University
Sklenar, Joseph
Wayne State University
Saglam, Hilal
Yale University
Ramberger, Justin
University of Minnesota
Batley, Joseph
University of Minnesota
Watts, Justin
University of Minnesota
Bromley, Daniel
University of Liverpool
Chopdekar, Rajesh
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
O'Brien, Liam
University of Liverpool
Leighton, Chris
University of Minnesota
Nisoli, Cristiano
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Schiffer, Peter
0000-0002-6430-6549
Yale University
Data from: String phase in an artificial spin ice
Dryad
dataset
2021
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
No. DE-SC0010778 and No. DE-SC0020162
United States Department of Energy
https://ror.org/01bj3aw27
No. DE-AC02-05CH11231
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
No. DMR-1807124 and DMR-2103711
UK Royal Society*
No. RGS\R2\180208
United States Department of Energy
https://ror.org/01bj3aw27
No. 892333218NCA000001
2021-12-18T00:00:00Z
2021-12-18T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26734-6
7380266092 bytes
8
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The appearance of one-dimensional strings of local excitations represents
an interesting feature of the physical behavior of strongly correlated
topological quantum matter. Here we demonstrate that strings of local
excitations can also describe the physics of a classical thermal system of
interacting nanomagnets, the Santa Fe Ice geometry of artificial spin ice.
We measure the moment configuration of the nanomagnets, both after
annealing near the ferromagnetic Curie point and in a thermally dynamic
state. While the Santa Fe Ice lattice structure is complex, we demonstrate
that its disordered magnetic state is naturally described within a
framework of emergent strings. We show experimentally that the string
length follows a simple Boltzmann distribution with an energy scale that
is associated with the system’s magnetic interactions and that is
consistent with theoretical predictions. The results demonstrate that
string descriptions and associated topological characteristics are not
unique to quantum models, but that they also provide a simplifying
description of complex classical systems with non-trivial frustration.