Recently, the observation of large thermal Hall conductivities in correlated insulators with no apparent broken symmetry have generated immense interest and debates on the underlying ground states. Here, considering frustrated magnets with bond-dependent interactions, which are realized in the so-called Kitaev materials, we theoretically demonstrate that a large thermal Hall conductivity can originate from a classical ground state without any magnetic order. We discover a novel liquid state of magnetic vortices, which are inhomogeneous spin textures embedded in the background of polarized spins, under out-of-plane magnetic fields. In the classical regime, different configurations of vortices form a degenerate manifold. We study the static and dynamical properties of the magnetic vortex liquid state at zero and finite temperatures. In particular, we show that the spin excitation spectrum resembles a continuum of nearly flat Chern bands, which ultimately leads to a large thermal Hall conductivity. Possible connections to experiments are discussed.
We explore both analytically and numerically the properties of doped t-J models on a class of highly frustrated lattices, such as the kagome and the pyrochlore lattice. Focussing on a particular sign of the hopping integral and antiferromagnetic exchange, we find a generic symmetry breaking instability towards a twofold degenerate ground state at a fractional filling below half filling. These states show modulated bond strengths and only break lattice symmetries. They can be seen as a generalization of the well-known valence bond solid states to fractional filling.
We present microscopic and macroscopic magnetic properties of the highly frustrated antiferromagnet Ba$_{2}$Sn$_{2}$ZnCr$_{7p}$Ga$_{10-7p}$O$_{22}$, respectively probed with NMR and SQUID experiments. The $T$-variation of the intrinsic susceptibility of the Cr$^{3+}$ frustrated kagomé bilayer, $χ_{kag}$, displays a maximum around 45 K. The dilution of the magnetic lattice has been studied in detail for $0.29 \leq p \leq0.97$. Novel dilution independent defects, likely related with magnetic bond disorder, are evidenced and discussed. We compare our results to SrCr$_{9p}$Ga$_{12-9p}$O$_{19}$. Bo…
We explore the phase diagram and the low-energy physics of three Heisenberg antiferromagnets which, like the kagome lattice, are networks of corner-sharing triangles but contain two sets of inequivalent short-distance resonance loops. We use a combination of exact diagonalization, analytical strong-coupling theories, and resonating valence bond approaches, and scan through the ratio of the two inequivalent exchange couplings. In one limit, the lattices effectively become bipartite, while at the opposite limit heavily frustrated nets emerge. In between, competing tunneling processes result in s…
In this paper, we propose a method to understand the nature for the quantum disorder phase of the two-dimensional (2D) high spin frustrated model. The ground state and excitation properties of a fully frustrated 2D spin-1 model are studied based on a model whose groundstate can be found exactly. By analogy to the pseudo-potential approach in the fractional quantum Hall effect, we conclude that the ground states of the fully frustrated spin-1 model are doubly degenerate valance bond solid (VBS) states along the horizontal or vertical direction of the square lattice. We also find that the ground…
Detailed neutron scattering measurements on the bond frustrated magnet ZnCr2S4 reveal a rich H-T phase diagram. The field dependence of the two subsequent antiferromagnetic transitions follows closely that of recently reported structural instabilities, providing further evidence for spin driven Jahn-Teller physics. The incommensurate helical ordered phase below TN1 = 15.5 K exhibits gapless spin wave excitations, whereas a spin wave gap (about 2 meV) opens below TN2 = 8 K as the system undergoes a first-order transition to a commensurate collinear ordered phase. The spin wave gap is closed by …
Frustrated one-dimensional (1D) magnets are known as ideal playgrounds for new exotic quantum phenomena to emerge. We consider an elementary frustrated 1D system: the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ ferromagnetic ($J_1$) Heisenberg chain with next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic ($J_2$) interactions. On the basis of density-matrix renormalization group calculations we show the existence of a finite spin gap at $J_2/|J_1|>1/4$ and we find the ground state in this region to be a valence bond solid (VBS) with spin-singlet dimerization between third-neighbor sites. The VBS is the consequence of spontaneous …
The frustrated Heisenberg $J_{1}-J_{2}$ model on a square lattice is numerically investigated by variational Monte Carlo simulations. We propose a antiferromagnetic fermion resonating-valence-bond (AF-fRVB) state that has ability to examine the entire phase diagram in the $J_{1}-J_{2}$ model. Two phase transition points, the second order around $J_{2}/J_{1}=0.45$ and the first order around $J_{2}/J_{1}=0.6$, can be extracted more clearly than the conventional bosonic RVB state. At the maximally frustrated point ($J_{2}/J_{1}=0.5$), the AF-fRVB state shows the variational ground-state energy in…
Using exact numerical diagonalization and the conformal field theory approach, we study the effect of magnetic frustrations due to diagonal exchange bonds in a system of two coupled mixed-spin $(1,{1/2})$ Heisenberg chains. It is established that relatively moderate frustrations are able to destroy the ferrimagnetic state and to stabilize the critical spin-liquid phase typical for half-integer-spin antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains. Both phases are separated by a narrow but finite region occupied by a critical partially-polarized ferromagnetic phase.
The Resonating Valence Bond (RVB) theory for two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets is shown to be the correct paradigm for large enough ``quantum frustration''. This scenario, proposed long time ago but never confirmed by microscopic calculations, is very strongly supported by a new type of variational wave function, which is extremely close to the exact ground state of the $J_1{-}J_2$ Heisenberg model for $0.4 \lesssim J_2/J_1\lesssim 0.5$. This wave function is proposed to represent the generic spin-half RVB ground state in spin liquids.
Using both exact diagonalizations and diagonalizations in a subset of short-range valence bond singlets, we address the nature of the groundstate of the Heisenberg spin-1/2 antiferromagnet on the square lattice with competing next-nearest and next-next-nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic couplings (J1-J2-J3 model). A detailed comparison of the two approaches reveals a region along the line (J2+J3)/J1=1/2, where the description in terms of nearest-neighbor singlet coverings is excellent, therefore providing evidence for a magnetically disordered region. Furthermore a careful analysis of dimer-di…
We present a certain class of two-dimensional frustrated quantum Heisenberg spin systems with multiple ring exchange interactions which are rigorously demonstrated to have quantum disordered ground states without magnetic long-range order. The systems considered in this paper are s=1/2 antiferromagnets on a honeycomb and square lattices, and an s=1 antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice. We find that for a particular set of parameter values, the ground state is a short-range resonating valence bond state or a valence bond crystal state. It is shown that these systems are closely related to th…
Simulating frustrated quantum magnets is among the most challenging tasks in computational physics. We apply String-Bond States, a recently introduced ansatz which combines Tensor Networks with Monte Carlo based methods, to the simulation of frustrated quantum systems in both two and three dimensions. We compare our results with existing results for unfrustrated and two-dimensional systems with open boundary conditions, and demonstrate that the method applies equally well to the simulation of frustrated systems with periodic boundaries in both two and three dimensions.
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.
Interleaved bond frustration in a triangular lattice antiferromagnet
University of California, Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校）；Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）；Oak Ridge National Laboratory（橡树岭国家实验室）；Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University（康奈尔大学高能同步辐射光源，康奈尔大学）；Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory（阿贡国家实验室先进光子源）
We study a short-range resonating valence bond (RVB) wave function with diagonal links on the square lattice that permits sign-problem free wave function Monte-Carlo studies. Special attention is given to entanglement properties, in particular, the study of minimum entropy states (MES) according to the method of Zhang et. al. [Physical Review B {\bf 85}, 235151 (2012)]. We provide evidence that the MES associated with the RVB wave functions can be lifted from an associated quantum dimer picture of these wave functions, where MES states are certain linear combinations of eigenstates of a 't Hoo…
Fermionic valence bond approach in terms of SU(4) representation is proposed to describe the $J_{1}-J_{2}$ frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnetic (AF) model on a {\it bipartite} square lattice. A uniform mean field solution without breaking the translational and rotational symmetries describes a valence bond spin liquid state, interpolating the two different AF ordered states in the large $J_{1}$ and large $J_{2}$ limits, respectively. This novel spin liquid state is gapless with the vanishing density of states at the Fermi nodal points. Moreover, a sharp resonance peak in the dynamic structu…
We extend the definition of the recently introduced valence bond entanglement entropy to arbitrary SU(2) wave functions of S=1/2 spin systems. Thanks to a reformulation of this entanglement measure in terms of a projection, we are able to compute it with various numerical techniques for frustrated spin models. We provide extensive numerical data for the one-dimensional J1-J2 spin chain where we are able to locate the quantum phase transition by using the scaling of this entropy with the block size. We also systematically compare with the scaling of the von Neumann entanglement entropy. We fina…
The frustrated magnet clinoatacamite, $γ$-Cu$_2$(OH)$_3$Cl, is attracting a lot of interest after suggestions that at low temperature it forms an exotic quantum state termed a Valence Bond Solid (VBS) made from dimerised Cu$^{2+}$ ($S=1/2$) spins.\cite{Lee_clinoatacamite} Key to the arguments surrounding this proposal were suggestions that the kagomé planes in the magnetic pyrochlore lattice of clinoatacamite are only weakly coupled, causing the system to behave as a quasi-2-dimensional magnet. This was reasoned from the near 95$^\circ$ angles made at the bridging oxygens that mediate exchange…
We present a comprehensive computational study of the phase diagram of the frustrated S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the honeycomb lattice, with second-nearest (J2) and third-neighbor (J3) couplings. Using a combination of exact diagonalizations of the original spin model, of the Hamiltonian projected into the nearest neighbor short range valence bond basis, and of an effective quantum dimer model, as well as a self-consistent cluster mean-field theory, we determine the boundaries of several magnetically ordered phases in the region J2,J3\in [0,1], and find a sizable magnetically disorder…
Identifying the time reversal symmetry of spins as a symplectic symmetry, we develop a large N approximation for quantum magnetism that embraces both antiferromagnetism and ferromagnetism. In SU(N), N>2, not all spins invert under time reversal, so we have introduced a new large N treatment which builds interactions exclusively out of the symplectic subgroup [SP(N)] of time reversing spins, a more stringent condition than the symplectic symmetry of previous SP(N) large N treatments. As a result, we obtain a mean field theory that incorporates the energy cost of frustrated bonds. When applied t…
We study the nature of the ground state of the frustrated J1-J2 model and the J1-J3 model using a variational algorithm based on projected entangled-pair states (PEPS). By investigating spin-spin correlation functions, we observe a separation in regions with long-range and short-range order. A direct comparison with exact diagonalizations in the subspace of short-range valence bond singlets reveals that the system is well described by states within this subset in the short-range order regions. We discuss the question whether the system forms a spin-liquid, a plaquette valence bond crystal or a…
Using variational wave functions and Monte Carlo techniques, we study the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with first-neighbor $J_1$ and second-neighbor $J_2$ antiferromagnetic couplings on the honeycomb lattice. We perform a systematic comparison of magnetically ordered and nonmagnetic states (spin liquids and valence-bond solids) to obtain the ground-state phase diagram. Néel order is stabilized for small values of the frustrating second-neighbor coupling. Increasing the ratio $J_2/J_1$, we find strong evidence for a continuous transition to a nonmagnetic phase at $J_2/J_1 \approx 0.23$. C…
Magnetic field induced multiple non-Dirac nodal-lines are found to emerge in the triplet dispersion bands of a frustrated spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic model on the CaVO lattice. Plaquette and bond operator formalisms have been employed to obtain the triplet plaquette and bond excitations for two different parameter regimes in the presence of nearest and next-nearest-neighbor Heisenberg interactions based on the plaquette-resonating-valence-bond and dimerized ground states, respectively. In the absence of magnetic field a pair of six-fold degenerate nodal-loops with distinct topological feature i…
Motivated by the magnetic properties of the spin-chain compounds LiCuSbO$_4$$\equiv$LiSbCuO$_4$ and Rb$_2$Cu$_2$Mo$_3$O$_{12}$, we study the ground state of the Heisenberg chain with dimerized nearest-neighbor ferromagnetic (FM)($J_1, J_1^\prime<0$) and next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic ($J_2>0$) couplings. Using the density-matrix renormalization group technique and spin-wave theory we find a first-order transition between a fully-polarized FM and an incommensurate spiral state at $2α=β/(1+β)$, where $α$ is the frustration ratio $J_2/|J_1|$ and $β$ the degree of dimerization $J_1^\prime…
The magnetization curve in a frustrated two-leg spin-ladder system is theoretically studied using both analytical and numerical methods. This spin system is mapped onto a hard-core boson system, which is composed of bond-operators describing the triplon excitation. By the analytical method using the mean-field theory on the bond-operators, we show that cusp singularities emerge in the magnetization curve as a function of a magnetic field due to the strong frustration. This originates from a change of number of Fermi points in the bosonic dispersion relation with the applied field. It is analog…
We have studied the two-dimensional S=1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnet $Cu(pz)_2(ClO_4)_2$ using inelastic neutron scattering and series expansion calculations. We show that the presence of antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbor interactions enhances quantum fluctuations associated with resonating valence bonds. Intermediate magnetic fields lead to a selective tuning of resonating valence bonds and a spectacular inversion of the zone-boundary dispersion, providing novel insight into 2D antiferromagnetism in the quantum limit.
The linear spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet with exchanges $J_1$, $J_2$ between first and second neighbors has a bond-order wave (BOW) phase that starts at the fluid-dimer transition at $J_2/J_1 = 0.2411$ and is particularly simple at $J_2/J_1 = 1/2$. The BOW phase has a doubly degenerate singlet ground state, broken inversion symmetry and a finite energy gap $E_m$ to the lowest triplet state. The interval $0.4<J_2/J_1<1.0$ has large $E_m$ and small finite size corrections. Exact solutions are presented up to $N=28$ spins with either periodic or open boundary conditions and for thermodynami…
The emergence of complex electronic behaviour from simple ingredients has resulted in the discovery of numerous states of matter. Many examples are found in systems exhibiting geometric magnetic frustration, which prevents simultaneous satisfaction of all magnetic interactions. This frustration gives rise to complex magnetic properties such as chiral spin structures orbitally-driven magnetism, spin-ice behavior exhibiting Dirac strings with magnetic monopoles, valence bond solids, and spin liquids. Here we report the synthesis and characterization of LiZn2Mo3O8, a geometrically frustrated anti…
We investigate the ground state nature of the transverse field Ising model on the $J_1-J_2$ square lattice at the highly frustrated point $J_2/J_1=0.5$. At zero field, the model has an exponentially large degenerate classical ground state, which can be affected by quantum fluctuations for non-zero field toward a unique quantum ground state. We consider two types of quantum fluctuations, harmonic ones by using linear spin wave theory (LSWT) with single-spin flip excitations above a long range magnetically ordered background and anharmonic fluctuations, by employing a cluster-operator approach (…
In frustrated spin ladders the interplay of frustration and correlations leads to the familiar Haldane (H) and rung-singlet (RS) phases. The nature of the transition between these two phases is still under debate. In this paper we tackle this issue using tools of quantum information theory. We consider frustrated mixed-spin-(1, 1/2) ladders with antiferromagnetic leg, rung and diagonal couplings, and calculate various quantities, such as the entanglement entropy (EE), the Schmidt gap, and the level degeneracy of the entanglement spectrum (ES). We use two numerical techniques, the infinite time…
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.
We propose a new quantum model interpolating between the fully frustrated spin-1/2 Ising model in a transverse field and a dimer model. This model contains a resonating-valence-bond phase, including a line with an exactly solvable ground state of the Rokhsar-Kivelson type. We discuss the phase diagrams of this model on the square and triangular (in terms of the dimer representation) lattices.
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.
The zero-temperature phase diagrams of a two-dimensional frustrated quantum antiferromagnetic system, namely the Union Jack model, are studied using the coupled cluster method (CCM) for the two cases when the lattice spins have spin quantum number $s=1$ and $s=3/2$. The system is defined on a square lattice and the spins interact via isotropic Heisenberg interactions such that all nearest-neighbour (NN) exchange bonds are present with identical strength $J_{1}>0$, and only half of the next-nearest-neighbour (NNN) exchange bonds are present with identical strength $J_{2} \equiv κJ_{1} > 0$. The…
A description of different phases of two dimensional magnetic insulators is given. The first chapters are devoted to the understanding of the symmetry breaking mechanism in the semi-classical Neel phases. Order by disorder selection is illustrated. All these phases break SU(2) symmetry and are gapless phases with magnon excitations. Different gapful quantum phases exist in two dimensions: the Valence Bond Crystal phases (VBC) which have long range order in local S=0 objects (either dimers in the usual Valence Bond acception or quadrumers..), but also Resonating Valence Bond Spin Liquids (RVBSL…
The spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg chain with a ferromagnetic first-neighbor exchange coupling $J_1$ and an antiferromagnetic second-neighbor $J_2$ has a Haldane dimer ground state with an extremely small spin gap. Thus, the ground state is readily altered by perturbations. Here, we investigate the effects of XXZ exchange magnetic anisotropy of both the easy-axis and easy-plane types and an alternation in $J_1$ on the ground state, the spin gap, and magnetic properties of the frustrated ferromagnetic spin-$1/2$ chain. It is found that there are two distinct dimerized spin-gap phases, in one of which th…
We describe four phases found in two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets. Two of them display long range order at T=0: the Néel state and the Valence Bond Crystal. The last two are Spin-Liquids. Properties of these different states are shortly described and likely conditions of their occurence outlined.
In quantum magnetism spin dimers are typically associated with spin-singlet states. To date, $triplet$ $dimerization$ has not been observed in any 3D or quasi-2D material. With this in mind we here discuss the electronic structure of the spin-orbit driven $5d^5$ Mott insulator Li$_2$IrO$_3$, a honeycomb-lattice system with two crystallographically inequivalent Ir-Ir bonds. From $ab$ $initio$ many-body calculations we find that, while both Heisenberg and Kitaev couplings are present, the magnetic interactions are dominated by a strong isotropic ferromagnetic exchange on only one set of bonds. T…
The coupled cluster method (CCM) is used to study the zero-temperature properties of a frustrated spin-half ($s={1}{2}$) $J_{1}$--$J_{2}$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet (HAF) on a 2D chevron-square lattice. Each site on an underlying square lattice has 4 nearest-neighbor exchange bonds of strength $J_{1}>0$ and 2 next-nearest-neighbor (diagonal) bonds of strength $J_{2} \equiv x J_{1}>0$, with each square plaquette having only one diagonal bond. The diagonal bonds form a chevron pattern, and the model thus interpolates smoothly between 2D HAFs on the square ($x=0$) and triangular ($x=1$) lattices,…
We outline the recent results on the ground state for a class of one- and two-dimensional frustrated quantum spin models with competing ferro(F)- and antiferromagnetic (AF) interactions. Frustrated spin systems are known to have many interesting properties due to large quantum fluctuations. As a result of these fluctuations usual mean-field approach gives quite crude (if not false) description of these systems. Therefore, exactly solvable models are very instructive at investigations of such systems. The exact ground state wave function of proposed models has a structure of the valence-bond st…
Utilizing magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, thermal expansion and IR spectroscopy we provide experimental evidence that the two subsequent antiferromagnetic transitions in ZnCr_2S_4 at T_N1 = 15 K and T_N2= 8 K are accompanied by significant thermal and phonon anomalies. The anomaly at T_N2 reveals a strong temperature hysteresis typical for a first-order transformation. Due to strong spin-phonon coupling both magnetic phase transitions induce a splitting of phonon modes, where at T_N1 the high-frequency and at T_N2 the low-frequency modes split. The anomalies and phonon splitting observ…
In these lectures we sketch a rapid survey of recent theoretical advances in the study of frustrated quantum magnets with a special emphasis on two dimensional magnets.
The $S=1/2$ frustrated Heisenberg chains with bond alternation is known to exhibit a magnetization plateau at half of the saturation magnetization $\Ms$ accompanied by the spontanuous translational symmetry breakdown. The effect of randomness on the magnetization process of this model is investigated. First we consider the mixture of the two kinds of chains both of which possess the $\Ms/2$-plateau in the common interval of the magnetization field. The plateau at $\Ms/2$ is found to vanish immediately if the randomness is switched on in agreement with Totsuka's prediction. The small plateau al…
Geometrically frustrated magnetic molecules have attracted a lot of interest in the field of molecular magnetism as well as frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets. In this article we demonstrate how an approximate diagonalization scheme can be used in order to obtain thermodynamic and spectroscopic information about frustrated magnetic molecules. To this end we theoretically investigate an antiferromagnetically coupled spin system with cuboctahedral structure modeled by an isotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian.
We present a unified account for the coupled single-hole- and spin-dynamics in the spin-gap phase of dimerized and frustrated spin-chains and two-leg spin ladders. Based on the strong dimer-limit of a one-dimensional $t_123$-$J_123$-model a diagrammatic approach is presented which employs a mapping of the spin-Hamiltonian onto a pseudo-fermion bond-boson model. Results for the single-hole spectrum are detailed. A finite quasi-particle weight is observed and studied for a variety of system parameters. A comparison with existing exact diagonalization data is performed and good agreement is found…
We investigate the Heisenberg model on a decorated square (Fisher) lattice in the presence of first-neighbor $J_{1}$, second-neighbor $J_{2}$, and third-neighbor $J_{3}$ exchange couplings, with antiferromagnetic $J_{1}$. The classical ground-state phase diagram obtained within a Luttinger-Tisza framework is spanned by two antiferromagnetically ordered phases, and an infinitely degenerate antiferromagnetic chain phase. Employing classical Monte Carlo simulations we show that thermal fluctuations fail to lift the degeneracy of the antiferromagnetic chain phase. Interestingly, the spin-wave spec…
As discussed in several chapters of this volume, frustration leads to unconventional (insulating) ground states. On the other hand, doped holes are known to have profound effects in Mott insulators. Therefore doped frustrated systems offer the prospect of novel phases with some of the most fascinating, challenging and exotic behavior. In addition, at commensurate electron fillings and in the presence of strong (screened) Coulomb repulsion, geometrical frustration can also manifests itself as an extensive degeneracy of the classical ground-state manifold providing profound similarities with the…
Exact diagonalizations indicate that the effective 1-dimensional behavior (sliding Luttinger liquid phase) of the frustrated spin-1/2 crossed chain model, predicted by Starykh, Singh and Levine [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 167203 (2002)], persists for a wide range of transverse couplings. The extension of the other phases (plaquette valence bond crystal and Néel long range order) is precised. No clear indication of a coexistence of these two phases is found, at variance with a suggestion of Sachdev and Park (cond-mat/0108214).
We present a unified approach to the problem of degeneracy lifting in geometrically frustrated magnets with and without an external field. The method treats fluctuations around a classical spin configuration in terms of a real-space perturbation expansion. We calculate two lowest-order contributions for the Heisenberg spin Hamiltonian and use them to study the magnetization processes of spin-$S$ triangular and kagomé antiferromagnets.
The magnetic phase diagram of a plaquette dimerized antiferromagnetic system is studied by using a combination of numerical and analytical techniques. For the strongly frustrated regime, series expansions and bond operators techniques are employed to analyze zero magnetization plateau, whereas low energy effective models are used to study the complete magnetization process. The interplay between frustration and dimerization gives rise to a rich plateaus structure that is captured by effective models and corroborated by numerical density matrix renormalization group simulations, in particular t…
We consider a family of SU(2)-symmetric Projected Entangled Paired States (PEPS) on the square lattice, defining colored-Resonating Valence Bond (RVB) states, to describe the quantum disordered phase of the $J_1-J_2$ frustrated Heisenberg model.For $J_2/J_1\sim 0.55$ we show the emergence of critical (algebraic) dimer-dimer correlations -- typical of Rokhsar-Kivelson (RK) points of quantum dimer models on bipartite lattices -- while, simultaneously, the spin-spin correlation length remains short. Our findings are consistent with a spin liquid or a weak Valence Bond Crystal in the neighborhood …
We develop a theory of spontaneously magnetized Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (SMTLL) in geometrically frustrated quasi-one-dimensional quantum magnets by taking an $S=1/2$ ferrimagnet on a union-jack lattice as an example. We show that a strong frustration leads to a spontaneous magnetization because of the ferrimagnetic nature of lattice. Due to the ferrimagnetic order, the local magnetization has an incommensurate oscillation with the position. We show that the spontaneously magnetized TLL is smoothly connected to the existence of a Nambu-Goldstone boson in the canted ferrimagnetic phase of a t…
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…
We use a combination of analytical and numerical techniques to study the phase diagram of the frustrated Heisenberg model on the bilayer honeycomb lattice. Using the Schwinger boson description of the spin operators followed by a mean field decoupling, the magnetic phase diagram is studied as a function of the frustration coupling $J_{2}$ and the interlayer coupling $J_{\bot}$. The presence of both magnetically ordered and disordered phases is investigated by means of the evaluation of ground-state energy, spin gap, local magnetization and spin-spin correlations. We observe a phase with a spin…
The static structure factor S(q) of frustrated spin-1/2 chains with isotropic exchange and a singlet ground state (GS) diverges at wave vector q_m when the GS has quasi-long-range order (QLRO) with periodicity 2π/q_m but S(q_m) is finite in bond-order-wave (BOW) phases with finite-range spin correlations. Exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations of S(q) indicate a decoupled phase with QLRO and q_m = π/2 in chains with large antiferromagnetic exchange between second neighbors. S(q_m) identifies quantum phase transitions based on GS spin correlations.
