Ice rule breakdown and frustrated antiferrotoroidicity in an artificial colloidal Cairo ice

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Ice rule breakdown and frustrated antiferrotoroidicity in an artificial colloidal Cairo ice
Authors:	Carolina Rodríguez-Gallo, Antonio Ortiz-Ambriz, Cristiano Nisoli, Pietro Tierno
Source:	New Journal of Physics, Vol 25, Iss 10, p 103007 (2023)
Publisher Information:	IOP Publishing, 2023.
Publication Year:	2023
Collection:	LCC:Science LCC:Physics
Subject Terms:	geometric frustration, colloids, magnetism, chirality, Science, Physics, QC1-999
More Details:	We combine experiments and numerical simulations to investigate the low energy states and the emergence of topological defects in an artificial colloidal ice in the Cairo geometry. This type of geometry is characterized by a mixed coordination ( z ), with coexistence of both z = 3 and z = 4 vertices. We realize this particle ice by confining field tunable paramagnetic colloidal particles within a lattice of topographic double wells at a one to one filling using optical tweezers. By raising the interaction strength via an applied magnetic field, we find that the ice rule breaks down, and positive monopoles with charge $q = +2$ accumulate in the z = 4 vertices and are screened by negative ones ( $q = -1$ ) in the z = 3. The resulting, strongly coupled state remains disordered. Further, via analysis of the mean chirality associated to each pentagonal plaquette, we find that the disordered ensemble for this geometry is massively degenerate and it corresponds to a frustrated antiferrotoroid.
Document Type:	article
File Description:	electronic resource
Language:	English
ISSN:	1367-2630
Relation:	https://doaj.org/toc/1367-2630
DOI:	10.1088/1367-2630/acfc60
Access URL:	https://doaj.org/article/9669b86a7cee47558a1e36a4b37c92b2
Accession Number:	edsdoj.9669b86a7cee47558a1e36a4b37c92b2
Database:	Directory of Open Access Journals

More Details
ISSN:	13672630
DOI:	10.1088/1367-2630/acfc60
Published in:	New Journal of Physics
Language:	English