Microscopic origin and universality of the 1/9 magnetization plateau

Determine the microscopic origin and stabilization mechanism of the 1/9 magnetization plateau in frustrated spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnets, including whether similar field-induced fractional states can emerge from qualitatively distinct quantum-disordered parent states.

Background

The paper compares kagome materials with different zero-field correlations: the Cu-based YCu3-Br system exhibits nonzero-wavevector continua associated with a proposed Dirac spin liquid, whereas the Ti-based compound studied here exhibits strong gapless q = 0 fluctuations. The authors report related 1/9 plateau-like behavior in expanded members of the Cs8AB3Ti12F48 family, but explicitly leave unresolved whether field-induced fractional states can arise from such qualitatively different quantum-disordered parent states. This unresolved issue is connected to the broader unsettled microscopic nature and stabilization mechanism of the 1/9 plateau.

References

Whether similar field-induced fractional states can emerge from such qualitatively distinct quantum-disordered parent states remains an open question.

— Universality of the $1/9$ Magnetization Plateau and Quantum-Disordered States in the Kagome Family $\mathrm{Cs_8AB_3Ti_{12}F_{48}}$ ($A=\mathrm{Rb},\mathrm{Li}$; $B=\mathrm{K},\mathrm{Na}$)  (2609.19572 - Chaudhary et al., 17 Sep 2026) in Main text, Introduction, paragraph beginning “This question becomes particularly intriguing in light of the markedly different zero-field spin correlations observed in kagome materials”