Magnetic monopoles are hypothetical elementary particles exhibiting quantized
magnetic charge $m_0=\pm(h/\mu_0e)$ and quantized magnetic flux $\Phi_0=\pm
h/e$. A classic proposal for detecting such magnetic charges is to measure the
quantized jump in magnetic flux $\Phi$ threading the loop of a superconducting
quantum interference device (SQUID) when a monopole passes through it.
Naturally, with the theoretical discovery that a plasma of emergent magnetic
charges should exist in several lanthanide-pyrochlore magnetic insulators,
including Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$, this SQUID technique was proposed for their direct
detection. Experimentally, this has proven extremely challenging because of the
high number density, and the generation-recombination (GR) fluctuations, of the
monopole plasma. Recently, however, theoretical advances have allowed the
spectral density of magnetic-flux noise $S_{\Phi}(\omega,T)$ due to GR
fluctuations of $\pm m_*$ magnetic charge pairs to be determined. These
theories present a sequence of strikingly clear predictions for the
magnetic-flux noise signature of emergent magnetic monopoles. Here we report
development of a high-sensitivity, SQUID based flux-noise spectrometer, and
consequent measurements of the frequency and temperature dependence of
$S_{\Phi}(\omega,T)$ for Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ samples. Virtually all the elements
of $S_{\Phi}(\omega,T)$ predicted for a magnetic monopole plasma, including the
existence of intense magnetization noise and its characteristic frequency and
temperature dependence, are detected directly. Moreover, comparisons of
simulated and measured correlation functions $C_{\Phi}(t)$ of the magnetic-flux
noise $\Phi(t)$ imply that the motion of magnetic charges is strongly
correlated because traversal of the same trajectory by two magnetic charges of
same sign is forbidden.
Authors
Dusad R; Kirschner FKK; Hoke JC; Roberts B; Eyal A; Flicker F; Luke GM; Blundell SJ; Davis JCS