Magnetic Monopoles in Spin Ice

Background and Purpose
Recent developments in the physics of spin ice have identified emergent magnetic monopole excitations that couple to laboratory magnetic fields. Since 2008 there have been many high impact publications in this area including several in Science or Nature group journals. The field is rapidly advancing, with many new ideas being advanced, and new avenues explored. In particular, currents of magnetic monopoles in spin ice are closely analogous to protonic currents in water ice, a solid electrolyte. Hence there is a strong overlap with ice physics and electrochemistry, which has introduced new concepts into magnetism that that from a traditional viewpoint seem very alien. The interchange of ideas between magnetism, ice physics and electrochemistry promises exciting advances in all these areas, yet it is important that scientists engage in discussion and the exchange of information to prevent progress from stagnating.

Spin ice was discovered in the UK by researchers at UCL and ISIS, with physicists at Warwick playing a prominent rle in early devlopments. However, the first realisation that spin ice should contain magnetic charges was due to a Russian expert in the physics of water ice. We therefore propose a workshop to bring these particular experts together for the first time, along with other interested parties form the UK and Europe, to discuss both work in progress and the conclusions of recently published work. In this way we will sharpen the new concepts that have emerged, which represent radically new ideas in condensed matter physics.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------