Using thermal boundary conditions to engineer the quantum state of a bulk magnet

Abstract

The degree of contact between a system and the external environment can alter dramatically its proclivity to quantum mechanical modes of relaxation. We show that controlling the thermal coupling of cubic-centimeter–sized crystals of the Ising magnet LiHoxY1-xF4 to a heat bath can be used to tune the system between a glassy state dominated by thermal excitations over energy barriers and a state with the hallmarks of a quantum spin liquid. Application of a magnetic field transverse to the Ising axis introduces both random magnetic fields and quantum fluctuations, which can retard and speed the annealing process, respectively, thereby providing a mechanism for continuous tuning between the destination states. The nonlinear response of the system explicitly demonstrates quantum interference between internal and external relaxation pathways.