Suppression of Thermal Conductivity via Singlet-Dominated Scattering in TmFeO 3
Abstract
We measured the thermal conductivity of the rare-earth orthoferrites, RFeO_{3}, where R=Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb from 3 to 300 K and see an anomalous strong suppression for TmFeO_{3} over most of the temperature range. Using a Debye thermal transport model, we demonstrate that this suppression is due to resonant scattering between phonons and the Tm^{3+} 4f singlet crystal field levels. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of thermal conductivity studies in quantum magnets.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Transition Metal Oxide Nanomaterials
Machine Learning in Materials Science
Multiferroics and related materials
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical Review Letters
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 136
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 086705–086705
- Publication date
- 3 February 2026
- Language
- EN