Entropy-induced confinement in two-dimensional magnetic monopole gases

Magnetic monopole quasiparticles in spin ice materials hold the potential for exploring new frontiers of physics that extend beyond Maxwell's equations. We have previously proposed a two-dimensional magnetic monopole gas (2DMG), confined at the interface between spin-ice (R₂Ti₂O₇, R = Dy, Ho) and antiferromagnetic iridate (R₂Ir₂O₇, R = Dy, Ho), which hosts monopoles with a net charge. The mechanism behind the 2D confinement of the monopole gas remains unclear. In this work, we demonstrate that entropy is a key factor in the 2D confinement of this monopole gas. We reveal that the competition between the entropy of spin-ice, which favors the 2D confinement, and the entropy of the monopoles' random walks, which favors the deconfinement, dictates the distribution of the monopoles within a few layers close to the interface. Our entropy-based model accurately reproduces the monopole distribution obtained from the spin model, affirming that 2D confinement is entropy-driven. We further employ both models to show that the monopole distribution can be manipulated by an external magnetic field and temperature, holding promise for next-generation devices based on magnetic monopoles. Our findings reveal the entropic mechanisms in 2DMG, enabling the manipulation of emergent quasiparticles at material interfaces.