From classical to quantum glass

We study the effects of a transverse magnetic field on the dynamics of the randomly diluted, dipolar coupled, Ising magnet LiHo0.167{Y}0.833F₄. The transverse field mixes the eigenfunctions of the ground-state Ising doublet with the otherwise inaccessible excited-state levels. We observe a rapid decrease in the characteristic relaxation times, large changes in the spectral form of the relaxation, and a depression of the spin-glass transition temperature with the introduction of quantum fluctuations.