Spin Ice

Spin ice is a newly identified class of magnetic material, and this is the first book devoted entirely to it. Within frustrated magnetism, where competing interactions between spins prevent them from settling into a simple order, spin ice has become a central model. Its spin rules give rise to an emergent magnetostatic gauge field theory, and its excitations can behave as magnetic monopoles or condense through the Higgs mechanism.

The book then moves past the classical picture to examine what happens when quantum coherence and itinerant electrons are introduced into artificial systems. On the quantum side, it covers spin liquids and photon-like excitations. On the electronic side, it considers the anomalous Hall effect.

The volume reviews the current state of knowledge in the field, covering both theory and experiment, and its contributors are leading researchers in the area. The chapters are arranged in a linear sequence that assumes little prior background. Textbook-style explanations of theoretical methods are included, making the work useful to advanced students and researchers who are new to the subject.