We report on diffuse neutron scattering experiments providing evidence for the presence of random strains in the quantum spin-ice candidate Pr 2 Zr 2 O 7 . Since Pr 3 + is a non-Kramers ion, the strain deeply modifies the picture of Ising magnetic moments governing the low-temperature properties of this material. It is shown that the derived strain distribution accounts for the temperature dependence of the specific heat and of the spin-excitation spectra. Taking advantage of mean-field and spin-dynamics simulations, we argue that the randomness in Pr 2 Zr 2 O 7 promotes a new state of matter, which is disordered yet characterized by short-range antiferroquadrupolar correlations, and from which emerge spin-ice-like excitations. Thus, this study gives an original research route in the field of quantum spin ice.
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机译：我们报告了弥漫性中子散射实验，提供了量子旋转冰候解PR 2 Zr 2 O 7中随机菌株存在的证据。由于PR 3 +是非克拉姆离子，因此应变深深地修改了用于该材料的低温性质的磁性矩的图像。结果表明，衍生的应变分布占特定热量和旋转激发光谱的温度依赖性。利用平均场和旋转动态模拟，我们认为PR 2 ZR 2 O 7中的随机性促进了一种新的物质状态，该物质尚不紊乱，其特征在于短程的抗甲状腺系列相关性，从而促使旋转冰 - 般的激动。因此，该研究在量子旋转冰领域提供了原始研究路线。
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