Neutron scattering signatures of a quantum spin ice

Abstract: Quantum spin ice is an appealing proposal of a quantum spin liquid - systems where the magnetic moments of the constituent electron spins evade classical long-range order to form an exotic state that is quantum entangled and coherent over macroscopic length scales. Such phases are at the edge of our current knowledge in condensed matter as they go beyond the established paradigm of symmetry-breaking order and associated excitations. Neutron scattering experiments on the pyrochlore material Pr$_2$Hf$_2$O$_7$ reveal signatures of a quantum spin ice state that were predicted by theory.