Using synchrotron X-rays and neutron diffraction we disentangle spin-lattice order in highly frustrated ZnCr$_2$O$_4$ where magnetic chromium ions occupy the vertices of regular tetrahedra. Upon cooling below 12.5 K the quandary of anti-aligning spins surrounding the triangular faces of tetrahedra is resolved by establishing weak interactions on each triangle through an intricate lattice distortion. The resulting spin order is however, not simply a Néel state on strong bonds. A complex co-planar spin structure indicates that antisymmetric and/or further neighbor exchange interactions also play a role as ZnCr$_2$O$_4$ resolves conflicting magnetic interactions.
We use a Monte Carlo simulation to study the diluted antiferromagnetic Ising model on the frustrated lattices including the pyrochlore lattice to show the dilution effects. Using the Wang-Landau algorithm, which directly calculates the energy density of states, we accurately calculate the entropy of the system. We discuss the nonmonotonic dilution concentration dependence of residual entropy for the antiferromagnetic Ising model on the pyrochlore lattice, and compare it to the generalized Pauling approximation proposed by Ke et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 137203 (2007)]. We also investigate othe…
Lattice-coupled antiferromagnetic spin model is analyzed for a number of frustrated lattices: triangular, Kagome, and pyrochlore. In triangular and Kagome lattices where ground state spins are locally ordered, the spin-lattice interaction does not lead to a static deformation of the lattice. In the pyrochlore structure, spin-lattice coupling supports a picture of the hexagon spin cluster proposed in the recent experiment[S. H. Lee et al. Nature, 418, 856 (2002)]. Through spin-lattice interaction a uniform contraction of the individual hexagons in the pyrochlore lattice can take place and reduc…
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…
We study the stability of some strongly frustrated antiferromagnetic spin lattices in high magnetic fields against lattice distortions. In particular, we consider a spin-s anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square-kagomé and kagomé lattices. The independent localized magnons embedded in a ferromagnetic environment, which are the ground state at the saturation field, imply lattice instabilities for appropriate lattice distortions fitting to the structure of the localized magnons. We discuss in detail the scenario of this spin-Peierls instability in high magnetic fields which essentia…
The variational cluster approximation is used to study the frustrated Hubbard model at half filling defined on the two-dimensional square lattice with anisotropic next-nearest-neighbor hopping parameters. We calculate the ground-state phase diagrams of the model in a wide parameter space for a variety of lattice geometries, including square, crossed-square, and triangular lattices. We examine the Mott metal-insulator transition and show that, in the Mott insulating phase, magnetic phases with Néel, collinear, and spiral orders appear in relevant parameter regions, and in an intermediate region…
We present a model compound with a spin-1/2 spatially anisotropic frustrated square lattice, in which three antiferromagnetic interactions and one ferromagnetic interaction are competing. We observe an unconventional gradual increase in the low-temperature magnetization curve reminiscent of the quantum critical behavior between gapped and gapless phases. In addition, the specific heat and electron spin resonance signals indicate one-dimensional characteristics. These results demonstrate quantum critical behavior associated with one dimensionalization caused by frustrated interactions in the sp…
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.
We consider two partially frustrated S = 1/2 antiferromagnetic spin systems on the triangular and pentagonal lattices. In an elementary plaquette of the two lattices, one bond has exchange interaction strength $α$ ($α\leq 1$) whereas all other bonds have exchange interaction strength unity. We show that for $α$ less than a critical value $α_{c}$, collinear Néel-type ordering is possible in the ground state. The ground state energy and the excitation spectrum have been determined using linear spin wave theory based on the Holstein-Primakoff transformation.
Studying the dynamical spin structure factor in frustrated spin chains with spontaneously dimerized ground state we show that besides the gapped spin-wave excitations there appears at finite temperatures also a sharp central peak. The latter can be attributed to deconfined spinons, accounted well within the variational approach. The central peak remains well pronounced within the local spin dynamics and may be relevant for experiments on materials with 1D frustrated spin chains.
In a strongly frustrated square-lattice antiferromagnet with diagonal coupling J', for J/(2J') < 1, an incommensurate spiral state with propagation vector Q = (π+/- δ, π+/- δ) near (π,π) competes closely with the Neel collinear antiferromagnetic ground state. For classical Heisenberg spins the energy of the spiral state can be lowered as it adapts to the distortion of the crystal lattice. As a result, a weak superstructural modulation such as exist in doped cuprates might stabilize an incommensurate spiral phase for some range of the parameter J/(2J') close to 1.
Geometrically frustrated magnets provide abundant opportunities for discovering complex spin textures, which sometimes yield unconventional electromagnetic responses in correlated electron systems. It is theoretically predicted that magnetic frustration may also promote a topologically nontrivial spin state, i.e., magnetic skyrmions, which are nanometric spin vortices. Empirically, however, skyrmions are essentially concomitant with noncentrosymmetric lattice structures or interfacial-symmetry-breaking heterostructures. Here, we report the emergence of a Bloch-type skyrmion state in the frustr…
The collective behavior of interacting magnetic moments can be strongly influenced by the topology of the underlying lattice. In geometrically frustrated spin systems, interesting chiral correlations may develop that are related to the spin arrangement on triangular plaquettes. We report a study of the spin chirality on a two-dimensional geometrically frustrated lattice. Our new chemical synthesis methods allow us to produce large single crystal samples of KFe3(OH)6(SO4)2, an ideal Kagome lattice antiferromagnet. Combined thermodynamic and neutron scattering measurements reveal that the phase …
We review the mechanism of spin-lattice coupling in relieving the geometrical frustration of pyrochlore antiferromagnets, in particular spinel oxides. The tetrahedral unit, which is the building block of the pyrochlore lattice, undergoes a spin-driven Jahn-Teller instability when lattice degrees of freedom are coupled to the antiferromagnetism. By restricting our considerations to distortions which preserve the translational symmetries of the lattice, we present a general theory of the collective spin-Jahn-Teller effect in the pyrochlore lattice. One of the predicted lattice distortions breaks…
We reveal the significance of kinetic-driven multiple-spin interactions hidden in geometrically-frustrated Kondo lattice models. Carefully examining the perturbation in terms of the spin-charge coupling up to the fourth order, we find that a positive biquadratic interaction is critically enhanced and plays a crucial role on stabilizing a spin scalar chiral order near 1/4 filling in a triangular lattice case. This is a generalized Kohn anomaly, appearing only when the second-order perturbation is inefficient because of the degeneracy under frustration. The mechanism is potentially common to fru…
Simple mean-field approach for frustrated antiferromagnets on hexagonal lattices, aimed to describe the high-temperature part of the temperature-magnetic field phase diagram, is proposed. It is shown, that an interplay between modulation vector symmetry, Zeeman energy and magneto-dipolar interaction leads to stabilization of the triple-$Q$ skyrmion lattice in a certain region of the phase diagram. Corresponding analytical expressions for phase boundaries are derived. It is argued that the developed theory can be applied for the description of the high-temperature part of the phase diagram obse…
We numerically demonstrate that a supersolid phase exists in a frustrated hard-core boson system on a triangular lattice over a wide range of interaction strength. In the infinite repulsion (Ising) limit, we establish a mapping to the same problem with unfrustrated hopping, which connects the supersolid to the known results in that case. The weak superfluidity can be destroyed or strongly enhanced by a next nearest neighbor hopping term, which provides valuable information for experimental realization of a supersolid phase on optical lattice.
We analyze the zero temperature phase diagrams of the spin S quantum antiferromagnet on square and triangular lattices with competing nearest and next-nearest exchange interactions as well as biquadratic couplings. We approach the problem from the large S limit. Our primary focus is on determining the extent to which the existence and character of any quantum disordered phases can be inferred from this approach.
We study novel electronic properties of the Hubbard model on a triangular lattice using the cellular dynamical mean-field theory. The interplay of strong geometric frustration and electron correlations causes a Mott transition at the Hubbard interaction $U/t=10.5$ and an unusual suppression of low energy spin excitations. Doping of a triangular Mott insulator leads to a quasiparticle peak (no pseudogap) at the Fermi surface and to an unexpected increase of low energy spin excitations, in stark contrast to the unfrustrated square lattice case. The present results give much insight into strongly…
Pyrochlore lattices, which are found in two important classes of materials -- the $A_2B_2X_7$ pyrochlore family and the $AB_2X_4$ spinel family -- are the quintessential 3-dimensional frustrated lattice architecture. While historically oxides ($X =$~O) have played the starring role in this field, the past decade has seen materials synthesis breakthroughs that have lead to the emergence of fluoride ($X =$~F) and chalcogenide ($X =$~S, Se) pyrochlore lattice materials. In this Research Update, we summarize recent progress in understanding the magnetically frustrated ground states in three famili…
Using exact diagonalization calculations, we investigate the ground-state phase diagram of the hard-core Bose-Hubbard-Haldane model on the honeycomb lattice. This allows us to probe the stability of the Bose-metal phase proposed in Varney et al (2011 Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 077201), against various changes in the originally studied Hamiltonian.
Using a lattice-gas description of the low-energy degrees of freedom of the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the frustrated two-leg ladder and bilayer lattices we examine the magnetization process at low temperatures for these spin models. In both cases the emergent discrete degrees of freedom implicate a close relation of the frustrated quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet to the classical lattice gas with finite nearest-neighbor repulsion or, equivalently, to the Ising antiferromagnet in a uniform magnetic field. Using this relation we obtain analytical results for thermodynamically large…
We consider topological order and dimer order in several frustrated spin ladder models, which are related to higher dimensional models of current interest; we also address the occurrence of fractionalized phases with deconfined spinon excitations in these models. Combining results obtained with both analytic and numerical methods, we discuss how the occurrence of dimerized or fractionalized phases are dictated by the system's geometry.
By means of the recently developed algorithm based on the tensor product states, the magnetization process of frustrated spin-1/2 spin-dimer models on a square lattice is investigated. Various field-induced quantum phases are discovered. In particular, clear evidence of a supersolid phase over a finite regime of magnetic field is observed. Critical fields at various field-induced transitions are determined accurately. Our work not only implies that the employed numerical technique can be an efficient algorithm even for the frustrated spin systems, but also shed light on the search of the super…
We investigate quantum phase transitions for the $s=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a pyrochlore lattice. By means of a series expansion starting from isolated tetrahedra, the ground-state phase diagram is determined. When the ratio of the two competing exchange couplings is varied, the first-order (second-order) quantum phase transition occurs between the two spin gap phases (the spin-gap and the antiferromagnetic phases). We also discuss some properties expected for the s=1 pyrochlore spin system.
For a class of frustrated spin lattices including the kagome lattice we construct exact eigenstates consisting of several independent, localized one-magnon states and argue that they are ground states for high magnetic fields. If the maximal number of local magnons scales with the number of spins in the system, which is the case for the kagome lattice, the effect persists in the thermodynamic limit and gives rise to a macroscopic jump in the zero-temperature magnetization curve just below the saturation field. The effect decreases with increasing spin quantum number and vanishes in the classic…
Aiming to describe frustrated quantum magnets with non-magnetic singlet ground states, we have extended the Rokhsar-Kivelson (RK) loop-expansion to derive a generalized Quantum Dimer Model containing only connected terms up to arbitrary order. For the square lattice frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet (J1-J2-J3 model), an expansion up to 8th order shows that the leading correction to the original RK model comes from dimer moves on length-6 loops. This model free of the original sign problem is treated by advanced numerical techniques. The results suggest that a rotationally anisotropic plaqu…
This paper examines the relation between the spin-wave instabilities of collinear magnetic phases and the resulting non-collinear phases for a geometrically-frustrated triangular-lattice antiferromagnet in the high spin limit. Using a combination of phenomenological and Monte-Carlo techniques, we demonstrate that the instability wave-vector with the strongest intensity in the collinear phase determines the wave-vector of a cycloid or the dominant elastic peak of a more complex non-collinear phase. Our results are related to the observed multi-ferroic phase of Al-doped CuFeO$_2$.
We study the Hubbard model on the frustrated honeycomb lattice with nearest-neighbor $t_1$ and second nearest-neighbor hopping $t_2$, which is isomorphic to the bilayer triangle lattice, using the SU(2)-invariant slave boson theory. We show that the Coulomb interaction $U$ induces antiferromagnetic (AF) chiral spin-density wave ($χ$-SDW) order in a wide range of $κ=t_2/t_1$ where both the two-sublattice AF order at small $κ$ and the decoupled three-sublattice 120$^\circ$ order at large $κ$ are strongly frustrated, leading to three distinct phases with different anomalous Hall responses. We fin…
31P nuclear and muon spin-lattice relaxation rate measurements in SrZnVO(PO4)2, a S=1/2 frustrated magnet on a square lattice, are presented. The temperature (T) dependence of the in-plane correlation length ξ(T) is derived and it is shown that the overall behaviour is analogous to the one found for non-frustrated systems but with a reduced spin stiffness. The temperature dependence of ξ(T) in SrZnVO(PO4)2 is compared to the one of other frustrated magnets on a square lattice with competing nearest neighbour (J1) and next-nearest neighbour (J2) exchange couplings and it is shown that ξ(T) prog…
Magnetic Raman scattering from a frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg-chain is considered with a focus on the uniform phase of the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO_3. The Raman intensity is analyzed in terms of a Loudon-Fleury scattering process using a spinless-fermion mean-field theory developed for the frustrated spin-chain. A comparison to experimental data is presented and the frustration and temperature dependence is studied. In good agreement with observed spectra a broad inelastic four-spinon continuum is found at low temperatures above the spin-Peierls transition. At high temperatures the intens…
Quantum Monte Carlo simulations provide one of the more powerful and versatile numerical approaches to condensed matter systems. However, their application to frustrated quantum spin models, in all relevant temperature regimes, is hamstrung by the infamous "sign problem." Here we exploit the fact that the sign problem is basis-dependent. Recent studies have shown that passing to a dimer (two-site) basis eliminates the sign problem completely for a fully frustrated spin model on the two-leg ladder. We generalize this result to all partially frustrated two-leg spin-1/2 ladders, meaning those whe…
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 …
Metallic spin liquid has been reported in several correlated metals, but a satisfactory theoretical description is not yet available. Here we propose a potential route to realize the metallic spin liquid and construct an effective $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge theory with charged fractionalized excitations on the triangular Kondo lattice. This leads to a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ metallic spin liquid featured with long-lived, heavy holon excitations of spin 0 and charge $+e$ and a partially enlarged electron Fermi surface. It differs from the weak-coupling FL$^*$ state proposed earlier and may be viewed as a frac…
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…
Above 40K, the magnetic susceptibility of the heavy Fermion spinel LiV2O4 has many features in common with those of geometrically frustrated magnetic insulators, while its room temperature resistivity comfortably exceeds the Mott-Regel limit. This suggests that local magnetic moments, and the underlying geometry of the pyrochlore lattice, play an important role in determining its magnetic properties. We extend a recently introduced tetragonal mean field theory for insulating pyrochlore antiferromagnets to the case where individual tetrahedra contain spins of different lengths, and use this as …
We study states with spontaneous spin current, emerging in frustrated antiferromagnetic spin-$S$ chains subject to a strong external magnetic field. As a numerical tool, we use a non-Abelian symmetry realization of the density matrix renormalization group. The field dependence of the order parameter and the critical exponents are presented for zigzag chains with S=1/2, 1, 3/2, and 2.
A geometrically frustrated lattice may host frustrated electron spin or charge states that spawn exotic quantum phases. We show that a newly synthesized metal-organic framework of Cu-Hexaaminobenzene [Cu$_3$(HAB)$_2$] exhibits a multi spectra of unusual quantum phases long sought after in condensed matter physics. On one hand, the Cu$^{2+}$ ions form an ideal $S$-1/2 antiferromagnetic kagome lattice. On the other hand, the conjugated-electrons from the organic ligands give rise to completely dispersionless energy bands around the Fermi level, reproducing a frustrated $π_x$-$π_y$ hopping model …
We investigate the lattice dynamics in the spin-1/2 frustrated kagome compound herbertsmithite ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$ by a combination of infrared spectroscopy measurements and ab initio density functional theory calculations, and provide an unambiguous assignment of infrared-active lattice vibrations involving in-plane and out-of-plane atom displacements in the kagome layers. Upon cooling, non-thermal red-shifts and broadening appear specifically for modes that deform the kagome layer or affect the Cu-O-Cu bond angles, thus creating pronounced modifications of the antiferromagnetic exchange c…
Magnetic excitations in the triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet (TLHA) CuCrO2 were studied using single-crystal inelastic neutron scattering. A diffusive quasielastic component that persisted without developing a correlation length over a wide temperature range both below and above the ordering temperature was observed. Furthermore, characteristic momentum dependence was observed that was reproduced using minimum spin clusters. The robust spin clusters contrast with conventional magnetic ordering and may be universal in TLHAs.
We present a new model compound with the S = 1/2 frustrated square lattice composed of the charge-transfer salt (o-MePy-V)PF6. Ab initio calculations indicate the formation of an S = 1/2 square lattice, in which six types of nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic- and antiferromagnetic interactions cause frustration. By applying a magnetic field, we observe an unusually gradual increase of magnetization and a subsequent 1/2-plateau-like behavior. A numerical analysis using the tensor network method qualitatively demonstrates such behaviors and suggests a collinear ordered state and a field-enhanced qu…
We investigate the spin-stripe mechanism responsible for the peculiar nanometer modulation of the incommensurate magnetic order that emerges between the vector-chiral and the spin-density-wave phase in the frustrated zigzag spin-1/2 chain compound $β$-TeVO$_4$. A combination of magnetic-torque, neutron-diffraction and spherical-neutron-polarimetry measurements is employed to determine the complex magnetic structures of all three ordered phases. Based on these results, we develop a simple phenomenological model, which exposes the exchange anisotropy as the key ingredient for the spin-stripe for…
We present Quantum Monte-Carlo simulations of an exchange-anisotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on a square lattice with nearest and next-nearest neighbor interactions. The ground state phase diagram shows two classical magnetically ordered phases for dominating antiferromagnetic S^z-interactions and for large quantum fluctuations a ferromagnetic order in the x-y plane. In between a finite region is detected where neither classical nor quantum mechanical order, e.g. long-ranged dimer correlations, are found.
We show that the honeycomb Heisenberg antiferromagnet with $J_1/2=J_2=J_3$, where $J_{1/2/3}$ are first-, second- and third-neighbour couplings respectively, forms a classical spin liquid with pinch-point singularities in the structure factor at the Brillouin zone corners. Upon dilution with non-magnetic ions, fractionalised degrees of freedom carrying $1/3$ of the free moment emerge. Their effective description in the limit of low-temperature is that of spins randomly located on a triangular lattice, with a frustrated interaction of long-ranged logarithmic form. The XY version of this magnet …
We investigate non-equilibrium properties of the frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets on the triangular lattice. Nonequilibrium critical relaxation of frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets shows a dynamic transition (or, at least, sharp crossover) at the same temperature $T_{\rm u}=0.282 J$ as for static properties due to unbinding of $\mathbb{Z}_2$-vortices. We show that starting from the high-temperature initial state, due to presence of $\mathbb{Z}_2$-vortices in the considering system, in a broad temperature range $T<T_{\rm u}$ the dynamic properties in the intermediate time range are s…
We investigate a model of a frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain coupled to adiabatic phonons with a general form of magnetoelastic coupling. For large enough frustration and lattice coupling a new tetramerised phase with three different bond lengths is found. We argue that the zig-zag spin-1/2 chain LiV$_2$O$_5$ might be a good candidate to observe such a phase.
A scaling theory of the Kondo lattices with frustrated exchange interactions is developed, criterium of antiferromagnetic ordering and quantum-disordered state being investigated. The calculations taking into account magnon and incoherent spin dynamics are performed. Depending on the bare model parameters, one or two quantum phase transitions into non-magnetic spin-liquid and Kondo Fermi-liquid ground states can occur with increasing the bare coupling constant. Whereas the renormalization of the magnetic moment in the ordered phase can reach orders of magnitude, spin fluctuation frequency and …
Quantum corrections of the biquadratic interaction in the 1D spin-1/2 frustrated ferromagnetic Heisenberg model are studied. The biquadratic interaction for spin-1/2 chains is eliminated and transformed to the quadratic interaction. Doing a numerical experiment, new insight as to how the classical phases get modified on the inclusion of quantum fluctuations is provided. Observed results suggest the existence of an intermediate region in the ground state phase diagram of the frustrated ferromagnetic spin-1/2 chains with combination of dimer and chiral orders. In addition, from the quantum entan…
Highly frustrated lattices yield a completely flat lowest single-electron band. Remarkably, exact many-body ground states can be constructed for the repulsive Hubbard model and the t-J model by filling this flat band with localized electron states. This construction leads to a macroscopic ground-state degeneracy. We discuss how to compute these ground-state degeneracies for a certain class of models, including in particular the sawtooth chain. Furthermore, we discuss generic consequences for low-temperature thermodynamic properties, like the appearance of a low-temperature peak in the specific…
We consider the spin-$1/2$ XY frustrated antiferromagnetic Heisenberg honeycomb model. There is an unclear intermediate region in the ground state phase diagram of the model. The most recognized phases are the quantum spin-liquid (QSL) and the antiferromagnetic Ising ordering. From the viewpoint of the quantum correlations, the QSL phase is expected to be entangled. Motivated by this fact, we have calculated the concurrence, the quantum discord (QD), and the entanglement entropy, by using numerical Lanczos and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) methods. Our results explicitly show tha…
The magnetization and specific heat measurements have been performed on single-crystalline Gd_3_Ru_4_Al_12_ with a distorted Kagome lattice structure. This spin system is regarded as an antiferromagnetic triangular lattice of XY like Heisenberg model at low temperatures. The magnetic phase diagrams indicate the existence of frustration and Z_2_ degeneracy. The magnetization and specific heat imply the successive phase transitions with partial disorder and a T-shaped spin structure in the ground state.
The role of various magnetic inter-chain couplings is investigated by numerical methods in doped frustrated quantum spin chains. A non-magnetic dopant introduced in a gapped spin chain releases a free spin-1/2 soliton. The formation of a local magnetic moment is analyzed in term of soliton confinement. A four-spin coupling which might originate from cyclic exchange is shown to produce such a confinement in contrast to transverse magnetic exchange. Dopants on different chains experience an effective space-extended non-frustrating pairwise spin interaction.
We present extensive Monte Carlo simulations for a classical antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with both nearest ($J_1$) and next-nearest ($J_2$) exchange couplings on the square lattice coupled to the lattice degrees of freedom. The Ising-like phase transition, that appears for $J_2/J_1>1/2$ in the pure spin model, is strengthened by the spin-lattice coupling, and is accompanied by a lattice deformation from a tetragonal symmetry to an orthorhombic one. Evidences that the universality class of the transition does not change with the inclusion of the spin-lattice coupling are reported. Implic…
We study the zero-temperature ($T=0$) ground-state (GS) properties of a frustrated spin-half $J^{XXZ}_{1}$--$J^{XXZ}_{2}$ model on the honeycomb lattice with nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor interactions with exchange couplings $J_{1}>0$ and $J_{2} \equiv κJ_{1}>0$, respectively, using the coupled cluster method. Both interactions are of the anisotropic $XXZ$ type. We present the $T=0$ GS phase diagram of the model in the ranges $0 \leq Δ\leq 1$ of the spin-space anisotropy parameter and $0 \leq κ\leq 1$ of the frustration parameter. A possible quantum spin-liquid region is identifie…
The dynamics of a mobile hole in two-dimensional frustrated quantum magnets is investigated by exact diagonalization techniques. Our results provide evidence for spin-charge separation upon doping the kagome lattice, a prototype of a spin liquid. In contrast, in the checkerboard lattice, a symmetry broken Valence Bond Crystal, a small quasi-particle peak is seen for some crystal momenta, a finding interpreted as a restoration of weak holon-spinon confinement.
Using inelastic magnetic neutron scattering we have discovered a localized spin resonance at 4.5 meV in the ordered phase of the geometrically frustrated cubic antiferromagnet $\rm ZnCr_2O_4$. The resonance develops abruptly from quantum critical fluctuations upon cooling through a first order transition to a co-planar antiferromagnet at $T_c=12.5(5)$ K. We argue that this transition is a three dimensional analogue of the spin-Peierls transition.
We give an overview of recent work on charge degrees of freedom of strongly correlated electrons on geometrically frustrated lattices. Special attention is paid to the checkerboard lattice, i.e., the two-dimensional version of a pyrochlore lattice and to the kagome lattice. For the checkerboard lattice it is shown that at half filling when spin degrees of freedom are neglected and quarter filling when they are included excitations with fractional charges $\pm$e/2 may exist. The same holds true for the three-dimensional pyrochlore lattice. In the former case the fractional charges are confined.…
We study a ferromagnetic Heisenberg spin system on the square lattice, with nearest neighbors interaction J_1 frustrated by second J_2 and third J_3 neighbors antiferromagnetic interactions, using a mean field theory for the Schwinger boson representation of spins. For J_3=0 we find that the boundary between the ferromagnetic and the collinear classical phases shifts to smaller values of J_2 when quantum fluctuations are included. Along the line J_2/|J_1|= 1 the boundaries between the collinear and incommensurate regions are strongly shifted to larger values with respect to the classical case.…
