Self-induced spin glass state in elemental and crystalline neodymium.

Spin glasses are a highly complex magnetic state of matter intricately linked to spin frustration and structural disorder. They exhibit no long-range order and exude aging phenomena, distinguishing them from quantum spin liquids. We report a previously unknown type of spin glass state, the spin-Q glass, observable in bulk-like crystalline metallic neodymium thick films. Using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy combined with ab initio calculations and atomistic spin-dynamics simulations, we visualized the variations in atomic-scale noncolinear order and its response to magnetic field and temperature. We quantified the aging phenomena relating the glassiness to crystalline symmetry and the energy landscape. This result not only resolves the long-standing debate of the magnetism of neodymium, but also suggests that glassiness may arise in other magnetic solids lacking extrinsic disorder.

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