Holes in a quantum spin liquid

Magnetic neutron scattering provides evidence for nucleation of antiferromagnetic droplets around impurities in a doped nickel oxide-based quantum magnet. The undoped parent compound contains a spin liquid with a cooperative singlet ground state and a gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum. Calcium doping creates excitations below the gap with an incommensurate structure factor. We show that weakly interacting antiferromagnetic droplets with a central phase shift of π and a size controlled by the correlation length of the quantum liquid can account for the data. The experiment provides a quantitative impression of the magnetic polarization cloud associated with holes in a doped transition metal oxide.