Thermal quenches in spin ice

Abstract

We study the diffusion annihilation process which occurs when spin ice is quenched from a high temperature paramagnetic phase deep into the spin ice regime, where the excitations -- magnetic monopoles -- are sparse. We find that due to the Coulomb interaction between the monopoles, a dynamical arrest occurs, in which `non-universal' lattice-scale constraints impede the complete decay of charge fluctuations. This phenomenon is outside the reach of universal mean-field theory for a two-component Coulomb liquid. We identify the relevant timescales for the dynamical arrest and propose an experiment for detecting monopoles and their dynamics in spin ice based on this non-equilibrium phenomenon.

4 pages, 3 figures (final version)