Dynamical Scaling as a Signature of Multiple Phase Competition in Yb2⁢Ti2⁢O7

Yb2⁢Ti2⁢O7 is a celebrated example of a pyrochlore magnet with highly frustrated, anisotropic exchange interactions. To date, attention has largely focused on its unusual, static properties, many of which can be understood as coming from the competition between different types of magnetic order. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering with exceptionally high energy resolution to explore the dynamical properties of Yb2⁢Ti2⁢O7. We find that spin correlations exhibit dynamical scaling, analogous to behavior found near to a quantum critical point. We show that the observed scaling collapse can be explained within a phenomenological theory of multiple-phase competition, and confirm that a scaling collapse is also seen in semiclassical simulations of a microscopic model of Yb2⁢Ti2⁢O7. These results suggest that dynamical scaling may be general to systems with competing ground states.