Compounds with honeycomb structures occupied by strong spin orbit coupled (SOC) moments are considered to be candidate Kitaev quantum spin liquids. Here we present the first example of Os on a honeycomb structure, Li2.15(3)Os0.85(3)O3 (C2/c, a = 5.09 Å, b = 8.81 Å, c = 9.83 Å, β = 99.3°). Neutron diffraction shows large site disorder in the honeycomb layer and X-ray absorption spectroscopy indicates a valence state of Os (4.7 ± 0.2), consistent with the nominal concentration. We observe a transport band gap of Δ = 243 ± 23 meV, a large van Vleck susceptibility, and an effective moment of 0.85 μB, much lower than expected from 70% Os(+5). No evidence of long range order is found above 0.10 K but a spin glass-like peak in ac-susceptibility is observed at 0.5 K. The specific heat displays an impurity spin contribution in addition to a power law ∝T(0.63±0.06). Applied density functional theory (DFT) leads to a reduced moment, suggesting incipient itineracy of the valence electrons, and finding evidence that Li over stoichiometry leads to Os(4+)−Os(5+) mixed valence. This local picture is discussed in light of the site disorder and a possible underlying quantum spin liquid state.

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Weyl fermions scattering from a random Coulomb potential are predicted to exhibit resistivity versus temperature ∝ in a single particle model. Here we show that, in closedenvironment-grown polycrystalline samples of Y2Ir2O7, = over four orders of magnitude in . While the measured prefactor, , is obtained from the model using reasonable materials parameters, the behavior extends far beyond the model's range of applicability. In particular, the behavior extends into the low-temperature, high-resistivity region where the Ioffe-Regel parameter, « 2 . Strong on-site Coulomb correlations, instrumental for predicting a Weyl semimetal state in Y2Ir2O7, are the possible origin of such "bad" Weyl semimetal behavior.

The plateau at 1=3 of the saturation magnetization M s in the metamagnet CeSb is accompanied by a state of ferromagnetic layers of spins in an up-up-down sequence. We measured M and the specific heat C in the plateau, spin wave analyses of which reveal two distinct branches of excitations. Those with ΔS z ¼ 1 as measured by M, coexist with a much larger population of ΔS z ¼ 0 excitations measured by C but invisible to M. The large density of ΔS z ¼ 0 excitations, their energy gap, and their seeming lack of interaction with ΔS z ¼ 1 excitations suggest an analogy with astrophysical dark matter. Additionally, in the middle of the plateau three sharp jumps in MðHÞ are seen, the size of which, 0.15%M s , is consistent with fractional quantization of magnetization per site in the down-spin layers.

Osmium-containing oxides are rare due to the difficulty in stabilizing complex structures with a fixed stoichiometry and metastability of the phases. Bismuth-substituted thallium osmate pyrochlore samples, Tl2–x Bi x Os2O7–y , were synthesized using solid-state reactions where the solubility limit was found to be approximately x = 1.4. Members of this solid solution were characterized by their structural, electronic, magnetic, and thermal properties to understand the influence of Bi3+ substitution on the ground state. The Os-containing pyrochlores crystallize in the ideal cubic pyrochlore structure (Fd m), and the lattice parameter a was found to slightly increase as a function of Bi content. A possible interplay between structure and cation valence states was explored using both neutron powder diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, suggesting that a combination of Os4+/Os5+ and Tl1+/Tl3+ mixed valency throughout the solid solution allows for the stabilization of the pyrochlore structure. The system is metallic for the entire solid solution and predominantly exhibits temperature-independent paramagnetism. Specific heat measurements show an enhanced Sommerfeld coefficient, a possible flat-band signature. This system gave insight into the bonding preferences of Os, indicating a dependence on high oxidation states and mixed valence for the stability of complex structures.