Heat transport of the kagom\'{e} Heisenberg quantum spin liquid candidate YCu$_3$(OH)$_{6.5}$Br$_{2.5}$: localized magnetic excitations and spin gap

The spin-1/2 kagom´e Heisenberg antiferromagnet is generally accepted as one of the most promising two-dimensional models to realize a quantum spin liquid state. Previous experimental efforts were almost exclusively on only one archetypal material, the herbertsmithite ZnCu 3 (OH) 6 Cl 2 , which unfortunately suffers from the notorious orphan spins problem caused by magnetic disorders. Here we turn to YCu 3 (OH) 6 . 5 Br 2 . 5 , recently recognized as another host of a globally undistorted kagom´e Cu 2+ lattice free from the orphan spins, thus a more feasible system for studying the intrinsic kagom´e quantum spin liquid physics. Our high-resolution low-temperature thermal conductivity measurements yield a vanishing small residual linear term of κ/T ( T → 0), and thus clearly rule out itinerant gapless fermionic excitations. Unusual scattering of phonons grows exponentially with temperature, suggesting thermally activated phonon-spin scattering and hence a gapped magnetic excitation, consistent with a Z 2 quantum spin liquid ground state. Additionally, the analysis of magnetic field impact on the thermal conductivity reveals a field closing of the spin gap, while the excitations remain localized.