Motivated by possible applications to the antiferromagnetic precursor of the high-temperature superconductor Na$_x$CoO$_2\cdot$yH$_2$O, we use a systematic low-energy effective field theory for magnons and holes to study different phases of doped antiferromagnets on the honeycomb lattice. The effective action contains a leading single-derivative term, similar to the Shraiman-Siggia term in the square lattice case, which gives rise to spirals in the staggered magnetization. Depending on the values of the low-energy parameters, either a homogeneous phase with four or a spiral phase with two filled hole pockets is energetically favored. Unlike in the square lattice case, at leading order the effective action has an accidental continuous spatial rotation symmetry. Consequently, the spiral may point in any direction and is not necessarily aligned with a lattice direction.
A systematic low-energy effective field theory for hole-doped antiferromagnets on the honeycomb lattice is constructed. The formalism is then used to investigate spiral phases in the staggered magnetization as well as the formation of two-hole bound states.
Using the low-energy effective field theory for hole-doped antiferromagnets on the honeycomb lattice, we study the localization of holes on Skyrmions, as a potential mechanism for the preformation of Cooper pairs. In contrast to the square lattice case, for the standard radial profile of the Skyrmion on the honeycomb lattice, only holes residing in one of the two hole pockets can get localized. This differs qualitatively from hole pairs bound by magnon exchange, which is most attractive between holes residing in different momentum space pockets. On the honeycomb lattice, magnon exchange unambi…
Based on a symmetry analysis of the microscopic Hubbard and t-J models, a systematic low-energy effective field theory is constructed for hole-doped antiferromagnets on the honeycomb lattice. In the antiferromagnetic phase, doped holes are massive due to the spontaneous breakdown of the $SU(2)_s$ symmetry, just as nucleons in QCD pick up their mass from spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. In the broken phase the effective action contains a single-derivative term, similar to the Shraiman-Siggia term in the square lattice case. Interestingly, an accidental continuous spatial rotation symmetry …
High-frequency ESR results on the S=1/2 Heisenberg hexagonal antiferromagnet InCu2/3V1/3O3 are reported. This compound appears to be a rare model substance for the honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet with very weak interlayer couplings. The high-temperature magnetic susceptibility can be interpreted by the S=1/2 honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet, and it shows a magnetic-order-like anomaly at TN=38 K. Although, the resonance field of our high-frequency ESR shows the typical behavior of the antiferromagnetic resonance, the linewidth of our high-frequency ESR continues to increase below TN, while i…
Spiral spin-liquids are correlated paramagnetic states with degenerate propagation vectors forming a continuous ring or surface in reciprocal space. On the honeycomb lattice, spiral spin-liquids present a novel route to realize emergent fracton excitations, quantum spin liquids, and topological spin textures, yet experimental realizations remain elusive. Here, using neutron scattering, we show that a spiral spin-liquid is realized in the van der Waals honeycomb magnet FeCl$_3$. A continuous ring of scattering is directly observed, which indicates the emergence of an approximate U(1) symmetry i…
As a model for the B 2pz bands of MgB$_2$, a half-filled Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice is studied, and a possibility of an antiferromagnetism (AF) at the ground state is examined by Monte Carlo calculations as well as a random phase approximation method. On a single-layer honeycomb lattice, a paramagnetic to AF phase transition occurs at a finite value of the repulsion energy $U_c/t \simeq 3.6$, due to the loss of the density of states at the fermi level. On a layered honeycomb lattice, however, inter-layer hopping term creates a perfect nesting of the fermi surface, and leads the AF wi…
The honeycomb iridates A2IrO3 (A=Na, Li) constitute promising candidate materials to realize the Heisenberg-Kitaev model (HKM) in nature, hosting unconventional magnetic as well as spin liquid phases. Recent experiments suggest, however, that Li2IrO3 exhibits a magnetically ordered state of incommensurate spiral type which has not been identified in the HKM. We show that these findings can be understood in the context of an extended Heisenberg-Kitaev scenario satisfying all tentative experimental evidence: (i) the maximum of the magnetic susceptibility is located inside the first Brillouin zon…
Bi3Mn4O12(NO3), in which the Mn4+ ions carry S=3/2, is the first honeycomb lattice system that shows no long-range magnetic order. Using neutron scattering, we have determined that short-range antiferromagnetic correlations develop at low temperatures. Applied magnetic fields induce a magnetic transition, in which the short-range order abruptly expands into a long-range order.
We investigate a microscopic origin of nonreciprocal magnon that is distinct from the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in a honeycomb antiferromagnet. The key ingredient is a symmetric anisotropic exchange interaction depending on the bond direction, which results in a valley-type nonreciprocal magnon excitations under the staggered antiferromagnetic ordering. Furthermore, we find this type of nonreciprocal magnon exhibits a peculiar magnetic-field response; the nonreciprocal direction can be manipulated by the in-plane rotating magnetic field. The obtained results can be accounted for the em…
New frustrated antiferromagnetic compounds CuRE2Ge2O8 (RE=Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu) have been investigated using high-resolution x-ray diffraction, magnetic and heat capacity measurements. These systems show different magnetic lattices depending on rare-earth element. The nonmagnetic Eu compound is a S=1/2 two-dimensional triangular antiferromagnetic lattice oriented in the ac plane with geometrical frustration. On the other hand, the Pr, Nd, and Sm compounds show a three-dimensional honeycomb-tunnel-like lattice made of RE^3+ running along the a axis with the characteristic behavior of frustrated antif…
Motivated by the recent numerical simulations for doped $t$-$J$ model on the honeycomb lattice, we study superconductivity of singlet and triplet pairing on the honeycomb lattice Hubbard model. We show that a superconducting state with coexisting spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairings is induced by the antiferromagnetic order near half filling. The superconducting state we obtain has a topological phase transition that separates a topologically trivial state and a nontrivial state with Chern number two. Possible experimental realization of such a topological superconductivity is also discussed…
Using the density-matrix renormalization group, we determine the phase diagram of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a honeycomb lattice with a nearest neighbor interaction J1 and a frustrating, next-neighbor exchange J2. As frustration increases, the ground state exhibits Neel, plaquette and dimer orders, with critical points at J2/J1 = 0.22 and 0.35. We observe that both the spin gap and the corresponding order parameters vanish continuously at both the critical points, indicating the presence of deconfined quantum criticality.
The topological properties of massive and massless fermionic quasiparticles have been intensively investigated over the past decade in topological materials without magnetism. Recently, the bosonic analogs of such quasiparticles arising from spin waves have been reported in the two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice ferromagnet/antiferromagnet and the 3D antiferromagnet. Here we use time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering to study spin waves of the S = 1 honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet BaNi2(AsO4)2, which has a zig-zag antiferromagnetic (AF) ground state identical to that of the Kitaev q…
We theoretically propose possible magnetism-induced negative thermal expansion in honeycomb-lattice antiferromagnets with edge-sharing networks of $MX_6$ octahedra where $M$ and $X$ are transition-metal and ligand ions, respectively. In this crystal structure, the nearest-neighbor exchange interaction is composed of two competing contributions, i.e., the antiferromagnetic contribution from a direct 180$^\circ$ $M$-$M$ bond and the ferromagnetic contribution from 90$^\circ$ $M$-$X$-$M$ bonds, amplitudes of which have different bond-length dependence. Numerical analysis of the spin-lattice model…
A family of insulating iridates with chemical formula Li$_2$IrO$_3$ has recently been discovered, featuring three distinct crystal structures $α,β,γ$ (honeycomb, hyperhoneycomb, stripyhoneycomb). Measurements on the three-dimensional polytypes, $β$- and $γ$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$, found that they magnetically order into remarkably similar spiral phases, exhibiting a non-coplanar counter-rotating spiral magnetic order with equivalent q=0.57 wavevectors. We examine magnetic Hamiltonians for this family and show that the same triplet of nearest-neighbor Kitaev-Heisenberg-Ising (KJI) interactions reproduce…
The Kitaev honeycomb model has been suggested as a useful starting point to describe the honeycomb iridates. However, the zigzag ordering seen in Na2IrO3 and the magnetic transition in Li2IrO3 have raised questions to their connection to the Kitaev model and to the microscopic origin of these magnetic states, given their structural similarities. Here we study how the magnetic phases near the Kitaev spin liquid are affected by the inclusion of trigonal distortion of the oxygen octahedra within a purely nearest neighbour model. Using a combination classical analysis and exact diagonalization we …
We calculate the two-magnon Raman scattering spectra in antiferromagnetic phases of several frustrated spin models defined on the honeycomb lattice. These include the Néel antiferromagnetic phase of a $J_1$-$J_2$-$J_3$ model and the stripe phase of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model. We show that both the magnetic frustration and the anisotropy of interactions may significantly affect the Raman spectra. We further discuss the implications of our results to the magnetic excitations of the iron-based compound BaFe$_2$Se$_2$O and show how the magnetic interactions can be extracted from fit to the Raman …
Frustrated bilayer quantum magnets have attracted attention as flat-band spin systems with unconventional thermodynamic properties. We study the low-temperature properties of a frustrated honeycomb-lattice bilayer spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ isotropic ($XXX$) Heisenberg antiferromagnet in a magnetic field by means of an effective low-energy theory using exact diagonalizations and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Our main focus is on the magnetization curve and the temperature dependence of the specific heat indicating a finite-temperature phase transition in high magnetic fields.
Within the Hartree Fock- RPA analysis, we derive the spin wave spectrum for the weak ferromagnetic phase of the Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice. Assuming a uniform magnetization, the polar (optical) and acoustic branches of the spin wave excitations are determined. The bipartite lattice geometry produces a q-dependent phase difference between the spin wave amplitudes on the two sub-lattices. We also find an instability of the uniform weakly magnetized configuration to a weak antiferromagnetic spiraling spin structure, in the lattice plane, with wave vector Q along the Gamma-K direction,…
We discover a new type of multiple-$q$ state, "ripple state", in a frustrated honeycomb-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet under magnetic fields. The ground state has an infinite ring-like degeneracy in the wavevector space, exhibiting a cooperative paramagnetic state, "ring-liquid" state. We elucidate that the system exhibits the ripple state as a new low-temperature thermodynamic phase via a second-order phase transition from the ring-liquid state, keeping the ring-like spin structure factor. The spin texture in real space looks like a "water ripple" and can induce a giant electric polarizat…
We study the spin-1 honeycomb lattice magnets with frustrated exchange interactions. The proposed microscopic spin model contains first and second neighbor Heisenberg interactions as well as the single-ion anisotropy. We establish a rich phase diagram that includes a featureless quantum paramagnet and various spin spiral states induced by the mechanism of order by quantum disorder. Although the quantum paramagnet is dubbed featureless, it is shown that, the magnetic excitations develop a contour degeneracy in the reciprocal space at the band minima. These contour degenerate excitations are res…
It is shown that the semimetallic state of the two-dimensional honeycomb lattice with a point-like Fermi surface is unstable towards a canted antiferromagnetic insulator upon application of an in-plane magnetic field. This instability is already present at the mean-field level; the magnetic field shifts the up- and the down-spin cones in opposite directions thereby generating a finite density of states at the Fermi surface and a perfect nesting between the up- and the down-spin Fermi sheets. This perfect nesting triggers a canted antiferromagnetic insulating state. Our conclusions, based on me…
We study the nearest neighboring spin-1/2 Kitaev-Heisenberg-Gamma ($KJΓ$) model on the honeycomb lattice in the parameter region of ferromagnetic (FM) Kitaev and antiferromagnetic (AFM) Heisenberg couplings relevant for honeycomb iridates, using a coupled-chain analysis. Starting from the gapless Luttinger liquid phase of a decoupled $KJΓ$ chain, the inter-chain interactions in the two-dimensional model is treated within a self-consistent mean field approach based on the Luttinger liquid theory. In the FM Gamma region, our analysis recovers the reported 120$^\circ$ magnetic order, previously o…
We present a spin-rotation-invariant Green-function theory for the dynamic spin susceptibility in the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a stacked honeycomb lattice. Employing a generalized mean-field approximation for arbitrary temperatures, the thermodynamic quantities (two-spin correlation functions, internal energy, magnetic susceptibility, staggered magnetization, N'eel temperature, correlation length) and the spin-excitation spectrum are calculated by solving a coupled system of self-consistency equations for the correlation functions. The temperature dependence of the magnet…
Motivated by recent experiments on Bi$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$(NO$_3$), we study a frustrated $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg model on the two dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice. The classical $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg model on the two dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice has Néel order for $J_2 < J_1/6$. For $J_2 > J_1/6$, it exhibits a one-parameter family of degenerate incommensurate spin spiral ground states where the spiral wave vector can point in any direction. Spin wave fluctuations at leading order lift this accidental degeneracy in favor of specific wave vectors, leading to spiral order by disorder. For …
We study the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a bilayer honeycomb lattice including interlayer frustration. Using a set of complementary approaches, namely Schwinger bosons, dimer series expansion, bond operators, and exact diagonalization, we map out the quantum phase diagram. Analyzing ground state energies and elementary excitation spectra, we find four distinct phases, corresponding to three collinear magnetic long range ordered states, and one quantum disordered interlayer dimer phase. We detail, that the latter phase is adiabatically connected to an "exact" singlet product ground s…
The spin$-1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the honeycomb bilayer lattice is shown to display a rich variety of semiclassical and genuinely quantum phases, controlled by the interplay between intralayer frustration and interlayer exchange. Employing a complementary set of techniques, comprising spin rotationally invariant Schwinger boson mean field theory, bond operators, and series expansions we unveil the quantum phase diagram, analyzing low-energy excitations and order parameters. By virtue of Schwinger bosons we scan the complete range of exchange parameters, covering both long range orde…
The spin-3/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the bilayer honeycomb lattice is a minimal model to describe the magnetic behavior of Bi$_3$Mn$_4$O$_{12}$(NO$_3$). We study this model with frustrating inter-layer second-neighbor couplings, taking into account quantum and thermal fluctuations. We use a path integral formulation in terms of coherent states to describe the low energy physics of the model. We show that for a particular point in the parameter space, close to the experimental estimated couplings, a continuum classical degeneracy is lifted by both quantum and thermal fluctuations, and a c…
We address the nature of the antiferromagnetic quantum phase transition that separates a semimetal from an antiferromagnet in the repulsive Hubbard model defined on the honeycomb lattice. At the critical point, the fermions acquire an anomalous dimension $η$ due to their strong coupling to the fluctuations of the order parameter $ϕ$. The finite $η$ in turn induces a singular $ϕ^{4}$ term and a non-analytical spin susceptibility signaling the breakdown of Hertz's $ϕ^{4}$ theory. As a result, the continuous antiferromagnetic quantum phase transition is internally unstable and turns into a first …
Motivated by the recent discovery of high temperature antiferromagnet SrRu$_2$O$_6$ and its potential to be the parent of a new superconductor, we construct a minimal $t_{2g}$-orbital model on a honeycomb lattice to simulate its low energy band structure. Local Coulomb interaction is taken into account through both random phase approximation and mean field theory. Experimentally observed Antiferromagnetic order is obtained in both approximations. In addition, our theory predicts that the magnetic moments on three $t_{2g}$-orbitals are non-collinear as a result of the strong spin-orbit coupling…
The semimetal to antiferromagnet quantum phase transition of the Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice has come to the forefront in the context of the proposal that a semimetal to spin liquid transition can occur before the transition to the antiferromagnetic phase. To study the semimetal to antiferromagnet transition, we generalize the two-particle self-consistent (TPSC) approach to the honeycomb lattice (a structure that can be realized in graphene for example). We show that the critical interaction strength where the transition occurs is $U_c/t=3.79\pm 0.01$ quite close to the value $U_c/t…
We use exact quantum Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate that the Néel ground state of an antiferromagnetic SU(2) spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice can be destroyed by a coupling to quantum phonons. We find a clear first-order transition to a valence-bond-solid state with Kekulé order instead of a deconfined quantum critical point. However, quantum lattice fluctuations can drive the transition towards weakly first-order, revealing a tunability of the transition by the retardation of the interaction. In contrast to the one-dimensional case, our phase diagram in the…
We present an antiferromagnetic quantum spin-1/2 model on honeycomb lattice. It has two parts, one of which is the usual nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model. The other part is a certain multiple spin interaction term, introduced by us, which is exactly solvable for the ground state. Without the Heisenberg part, the model has an exact threefold degenerate dimer ground state. This exact ground state is also noted to exist for the general spin-S case. For the spin-1/2 case, we further carry out the triplon analysis in the ground state, to study the competition between the Heisenberg and the multipl…
We examine the stability of classical states with a generic incommensurate spiral order against quantum fluctuations. Specifically, we focus on the frustrated spin-1/2 $XY$ and Heisenberg models on the honeycomb lattice with nearest-neighbor $J_1$ and next-nearest-neighbor $J_2$ antiferromagnetic couplings. Our variational approach is based on the Jastrow wave functions, which include quantum correlations on top of classical spin waves. We perform a systematic optimization of wave vectors and Jastrow pseudo-potentials within this class of variational states and find that quantum fluctuations f…
We propose the existence of a symmetry-protected topological Dirac nodal line (DNL) magnonic phase in layered honeycomb collinear antiferromagnets even in the presence of spin-orbit Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We show that the magnon spin Nernst effect, predicted to occur in strictly two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb collinear antiferromagnets cancels out in the layered honeycomb collinear antiferromagnets. In other words, the magnon spin Nernst effect in each 2D antiferromagnetic layer cancels out the succeeding layer. Hence, the Berry curvature vanish in the entire Brillouin zone due to …
We carried out inelastic neutron scattering experiments on a buckled honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet Ba$_{2}$NiTeO$_{6}$ exhibiting a stripe structure at a low temperature. Magnetic excitations are observed in the energy range of $\hbar ω\lesssim 10$ meV having an anisotropy gap of 2 meV at 2 K. We perform spin-wave calculations to identify the spin model. The obtained microscopic parameters are consistent with the location of the stripe structure in the classical phase diagram. Furthermore, the Weiss temperature independently estimated from a bulk magnetic susceptibility is consistent with …
The real-space RG approach is applied to study critical temperatures of system consisting of interacting spin chains of spin S=1 with an inner antiferromagnetic exchange which form a honeycomb crystal lattice. Using anisotropic Heisenberg model we calculate critical temperature as a function of anisotropic parameter and the ratio of interchain and intrachain interactions. A comparison our results with those obtained from RGRS calculations for the same model of spin-1/2 on a square lattice is given.
We report a comprehensive study of magnetic properties of Ni3TeO6. The system crystallizes in a noncentrosymmetric rhombohedral lattice, space group R3. There are three differently coordinated Ni atoms in the unit cell. Two of them form an almost planar honeycomb lattice, while the third one is placed between the layers. Magnetization and specific heat measurements revealed a single magnetic ordering at TN = 52 K. Below TN the susceptibility with the magnetic field parallel to the c-axis drops towards zero while the perpendicular susceptibility remains constant, a characteristic of antiferroma…
Synthesis, crystal structure and magnetic properties of a new 2:1 ordered triple perovskite Sr3CaOs2O9 are reported. The compound crystallizes in P21/c space group and features a unique buckled honeycomb lattice of osmium. It exhibits long-range antiferromagnetic ordering with a high Neel temperature of 385 K as confirmed by susceptibility, heat capacity and neutron diffraction measurements and is electrically insulating. This compound is also the first example of a 2:1 ordered osmate perovskite. Theoretical investigations indicate that Sr3CaOs2O9 features a sizeable antiferromagnetic exchange…
In this paper we present a detailed study of the antiferromagnetic classical Heisenberg model on a bilayer honeycomb lattice in a highly frustrated regime in presence of a magnetic field. This study shows strong evidence of entropic order-by-disorder selection in different sectors of the magnetization curve. For antiferromagnetic couplings $J_1=J_x=J_p/3$, we find that at low temperatures there are two different regions in the magnetization curve selected by this mechanism with different number of soft and zero modes. These regions present broken $Z_2$ symmetry and are separated by a not fully…
We study the ground-state (gs) phase diagram of the frustrated spin-1/2 $J_{1}$-$J_{2}$-$J_{3}$ antiferromagnet with $J_{2} = J_{3} =κJ_1$ on the honeycomb lattice, using coupled-cluster theory and exact diagonalization methods. We present results for the gs energy, magnetic order parameter, spin-spin correlation function, and plaquette valence-bond crystal (PVBC) susceptibility. We find a Néel antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase for $κ< κ_{c_{1}} \approx 0.47$, a collinear striped AFM phase for $κ> κ_{c_{2}} \approx 0.60$, and a paramagnetic PVBC phase for $κ_{c_{1}} \lesssim κ\lesssim κ_{c_{2}}$. …
Using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) on wide cylinders, we study the phase diagram of the spin-1/2 XY model on the honeycomb lattice, with first-neighbor ($J_1 = 1$) and frustrating second-neighbor ($J_2>0$) interactions. For the intermediate frustration regime $0.22\lesssim J_2\lesssim0.36$, we find a surprising antiferromagnetic Ising phase, with ordered moments pointing along the z axis, despite the absence of any S_z_z interactions in the Hamiltonian. Surrounding this phase as a function of $J_2$ are antiferromagnetic phases with the moments pointing in the $x-y$ plane for…
In our previous work, we identify the Sublattice-Pairing State (SPS) in Schwinger-fermion representation as the spin liquid phase discovered in recent numerical study on a honeycomb lattice. In this paper, we show that SPS is identical to the zero-flux $Z_2$ spin liquid in Schwinger-boson representation found by Wang\cite{Wang2010} by an explicit duality transformation. SPS is connected to an \emph{unusual} antiferromagnetic ordered phase, which we term as chiral-antiferromagnetic (CAF) phase, by an O(4) critical point. CAF phase breaks the SU(2) spin rotation symmetry completely and has three…
Motivated by recent experimental study of antiferromagnetic property of honeycomb compound In$_{3}$Cu$_{2}$VO$_{9}$ [Yan \textit{et al.}, PRB \textbf{85}, 085102 (2012)], we explore possible superconductivity and its coexistence with antiferromagnetism. We use the t-t$^\prime$-J model on the honeycomb lattice as our starting point and employ the slave-boson mean-field theory. In the antiferromagnetic normal state, the characteristic doping evolution of Fermi surface shows that only one effective singe band is active, which suggests that the potential pairing symmetry is the time-reversal symme…
The magnetic properties of the two-dimensional, S=1 honeycomb antiferromagnet BaNi$_2$V$_2$O$_8$ have been comprehensively studied using DC susceptibility measurements and inelastic neutron scattering techniques. The magnetic excitation spectrum is found to be dispersionless within experimental resolution between the honeycomb layers, while it disperses strongly within the honeycomb plane where it consists of two gapped spin-wave modes. The magnetic excitations are compared to linear spin-wave theory allowing the Hamiltonian to be determined. The first- and second-neighbour magnetic exchange i…
The core of the vortex in the Neel order parameter for an easy-plane antiferromagnet on honeycomb lattice is demonstrated to bind two zero-energy states. Remarkably, a single electron occupying this mid-gap band has its spin fragmented between the two sublattices: Whereas it yields a vanishing total magnetization it shows a finite Neel order, orthogonal to the one of the assumed background. The requisite easy-plane anisotropy may be introduced by a magnetic field parallel to the graphene layer, for example. The results are relevant for spin-1/2 fermions on graphene's or optical honeycomb latti…
Antiferromagnetic and ferro/ferrimagnetic orders are typically exclusive in nature, thus, their co-existence in atomic-scale proximity is expected only in heterostructures. Breaking this paradigm and broadening the range of unconventional magnetic states, we report here on an atomic-scale hybrid spin state, which is stabilized in three-dimensional crystals of the polar antiferromagnet Co$_2$Mo$_3$O$_8$ by magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the \emph{Co} honeycomb layers and possesses a spontaneous in-plane ferromagnetic moment. Our microscopic spin model, capturing the observed field dep…
Magnetoelectric effects in honeycomb antiferromagnet Co4Nb2O9 are investigated on the basis of symmetry analyses of Co ions in trigonal P-3c1 space group. For each Co ion, the possible spin dependence is classified by C3 point-group symmetry. This accounts for the observed main effect that an electric polarization rotates in the opposite direction at the twice speed relative to the rotation of the external magnetic field applied in the ab-plane. Inversion centers and twofold axes in the unit cell restrict the active spin-dependence of the electric polarization, which well explains the observed…
We study S=1/2 Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice with first and second neighbor antiferromagnetic exchange (J_{1}-J_{2} model), employing exact diagonalization in both S_z=0 basis and nearest neighbor singlet valence bond (NNVB) basis. We find that for 0.2<J_2/J_1<0.3, NNVB basis gives a proper description of the ground state in comparison with the exact results. By analyzing the dimer-dimer as well as plaquette-plaquette correlations and also defining appropriate structure factors, we investigate possible symmetry breaking states as the candidate for the ground state in the frustrated…
For temperatures T well above the ordering temperature T*=3.0+-0.2K the magnetic properties of the metal-organic material Mn[C10H6(OH)(COO)]2x2H20 built from Mn^2+ ions and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic anions can be described by a S=5/2 quantum antiferromagnet on a distorted honeycomb lattice with two different nearest neighbor exchange couplings J2 \approx 2J1 \approx 1.8K. Measurements of the magnetization M(H,T) as a function of a uniform external field H and of the uniform zero field susceptibility χ(T) are explained within the framework of a modified spin-wave approach which takes into account t…
The honeycomb antiferromagnet under a triaxial strain is studied using the quantum Monte Carlo simulation. The strain dimerizes the exchange couplings near the corners, thus destructs the antiferromagnetic order therein. The antiferromagnetic region is continuously reduced by the strain. For the same strain strength, the exact numerical results give a much smaller antiferromagnetic region than the linear spin-wave theory. We then study the strained $XY$ antiferromagnet, where the magnon pseudo-magnetic field behaves quite differently. The $0$th Landau level appears in the middle of the spectru…
