Quantum spin liquid state pathway emerges

With potential roles in quantum computation, high-temperature superconductivity and a range of exotic anyonic states, it’s no wonder that quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are attracting so much research interest. However, a detailed understanding of the kagome lattice materials that might harbour QSL states has proved harder to come by. Reporting in Chinese Physics Letters, researchers in China and Japan have now identified QSL characteristics in a new candidate kagome lattice material. In addition, their investigations suggest possible pathways for the transition between QSL and magnetically ordered states, as well as insights into some of the anyonic excitations and other exotic properties predicted by theory.