Fracton phases of matter feature a variety of exciting phenomena stemming from the restricted mobility of their quasiparticles. Here we consider a model of interacting electrons in one dimension that describes hopping of spin-singlet pairs and obeys both charge and dipole conservation laws. The model contains Bethe ansatz integrable sectors which allow us to solve the ground state and calculate the exact spin and single-electron excitation gaps. We observe hallmarks of fractonic behavior, including localization of single-electron excitations and propensity to clustering. Our results demonstrate the important role of the dipole moment conservation law in a simple model of spin-1/2 fermions.
We investigate the finite-temperature screening behavior of three-dimensional U(1) spin liquid phases with fracton excitations. Several features are shared with the conventional U(1) spin liquid. The system can exhibit spin liquid physics over macroscopic length scales at low temperatures, but screening effects eventually lead to a smooth finite-temperature crossover to a trivial phase at sufficiently large distances. However, unlike more conventional U(1) spin liquids, we find that complete low-temperature screening of fractons requires not only very large distances, but also very long timesc…
We present a three-dimensional cubic lattice spin model, anisotropic in the $\hat{z}$ direction, that exhibits fracton topological order. The latter is a novel type of topological order characterized by the presence of immobile pointlike excitations, named fractons, residing at the corners of an operator with two-dimensional support. As other recent fracton models, ours exhibits a subextensive ground state degeneracy: On an $L_x\times L_y\times L_z$ three-torus, it has a $2^{2L_z}$ topological degeneracy, and an additional non-topological degeneracy equal to $2^{L_xL_y-2}$. The fractons can be…
We introduce hybrid fracton orders: three-dimensional gapped quantum phases that exhibit the phenomenology of both conventional three-dimensional topological orders and fracton orders. Hybrid fracton orders host both (i) mobile topological quasiparticles and loop excitations, as well as (ii) point-like topological excitations with restricted mobility, with non-trivial fusion rules and mutual braiding statistics between the two sets of excitations. Furthermore, hybrid fracton phases can realize either conventional three-dimensional topological orders or fracton orders after undergoing a phase t…
We explain how gapped quantum spin liquids, both conventional and 'fractonic', may be unambiguously diagnosed experimentally using the technique of multidimensional coherent spectroscopy. 'Conventional' gapped quantum spin liquids (e.g. $Z_2$ spin liquid) do not have clear signatures in linear response, but do have clear fingerprints in non-linear response, accessible through the already existing experimental technique of two dimensional coherent spectroscopy. Type I fracton phases (e.g. X-cube) are (surprisingly) even easier to distinguish, with strongly suggestive features even in linear res…
Classical fracton spin liquid and Hilbert space fragmentation in a 2D spin-$1/2$ model
The Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)（阿卜杜斯·萨拉姆国际理论物理中心）；Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie（柏林亥姆霍兹材料与能源中心）；Freie Universität Berlin（柏林自由大学）；Indian Institute of Technology Madras（马德拉斯印度理工学院）；SISSA（的国际高等研究学校）
Gapless fracton quantum spin liquid and emergent photons in a 2D spin-1 model
The Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)（阿卜杜斯·萨拉姆国际理论物理中心）；Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie（柏林亥姆霍兹材料与能源中心）；Freie Universität Berlin（柏林自由大学）；Indian Institute of Technology Madras（马德拉斯印度理工学院）；SISSA（意大利高等研究学院）
Fracton Spin Liquid and Exotic Frustrated Phases in Ising-like Octochlore Magnets
University of California, Irvine（加州大学尔湾分校）；University of Waterloo（滑铁卢大学）；Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo（滑铁卢大学滑铁卢纳米技术研究所）；Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems（马克斯·普朗克复杂系统物理研究所）；Rice University（莱斯大学）
We consider close-packed tiling models of geometric objects -- a mixture of hardcore dimers and plaquettes -- as a generalisation of the familiar dimer models. Specifically, on an anisotropic cubic lattice, we demand that each site be covered by either a dimer on a z-link or a plaquette in the x-y plane. The space of such fully packed tilings has an extensive degeneracy. This maps onto a fracton-type `higher-rank electrostatics', which can exhibit a plaquette-dimer liquid and an ordered phase. We analyse this theory in detail, using height representations and T-duality to demonstrate that the …
In this work we propose a $\mathbb{Z}_N$ clock model which is exactly solvable on the lattice. We find exotic properties for the low-energy physics, such as UV/IR mixing and excitations with restricted mobility, that resemble fractonic physics from higher dimensional models. We then study the continuum descriptions for the lattice system in two distinct regimes and find two qualitative distinct field theories for each one of them. A characteristic time scale that grows exponentially fast with $N^2$ (and diverges rapidly as a function of system parameters) separates these two regimes. For times…
Fractons are emergent particles which are immobile in isolation, but which can move together in dipolar pairs or other small clusters. These exotic excitations naturally occur in certain quantum phases of matter described by tensor gauge theories. Previous research has focused on the properties of small numbers of fractons and their interactions, effectively mapping out the "Standard Model" of fractons. In the present work, however, we consider systems with a finite density of either fractons or their dipolar bound states, with a focus on the $U(1)$ fracton models. We study some of the phases …
We identify fingerprints of a proximate quantum spin-liquid (QSL), observable by finite-temperature dynamical thermal transport within a minimal version of the idealized Kitaev model on a two-leg ladder, if subjected to inevitably present Heisenberg couplings. Using exact diagonalization and quantum typicality, we uncover (i) an insulator-conductor crossover induced by fracton recombination at infinitesimal Heisenberg coupling, (ii) low- and high-energy signatures of fractons, which survive far off the pure QSL point, and (iii) a non-monotonous current life-time versus Heisenberg couplings. Gu…
Paramagnetic spin systems with spontaneously broken spatial symmetries, such as valence bond solid (VBS) phases, can host topological defects carrying non-trivial quantum numbers, which enables the paradigm of deconfined quantum criticality. In this work, we study the properties of topological defects in valence plaquette solid (VPS) phases on square and cubic lattices. We show that the defects of the VPS order parameter, in addition to possessing non-trivial quantum numbers, have fracton mobility constraints deep in the VPS phase, which has been overlooked previously. The spinon inside a sing…
We describe a construction of topological orders from coupled lower dimensional symmetry-protected topological orders, which is closely related to gauging a subsystem symmetry. Our construction yields both conventional topological orders and exotic fracton topological orders of type-I and type-II. In particular, we find a coupled spin chain construction of Haah's cubic code, and a coupled layer construction of Yoshida's fractal spin liquids.
Gapped non-liquid state (also known as fracton state) is a very special gapped quantum state of matter that is characterized by a microscopic cellular structure. Such microscopic cellular structure has a macroscopic effect at arbitrary long distances and cannot be removed by renormalization group flow, which makes gapped non-liquid state beyond the description of topological quantum field theory with a finite number of fields. Using Abelian and non-Abelian topological orders in 2-dimensional (2d) space and the different ways to glue them together via their gapped boundaries, we propose a syste…
Fracton topological phases host fractionalized topological quasiparticles with restricted mobility, with promising applications to fault-tolerant quantum computation. While a variety of exactly solvable fracton models have been proposed, there is a need for platforms to realize them experimentally. We show that a rich set of fracton phases emerges in interacting Majorana band models whose building blocks are within experimental reach. Specifically, our Majorana constructions overcome a principal obstacle, namely the implementation of the complicated spin cluster interactions underlying fracton…
The theory of quantum phase transitions separating different phases with distinct symmetry patterns at zero temperature is one of the foundations of modern quantum many-body physics. In this paper we demonstrate that the existence of a 2D topological phase transition between a higher-order topological insulator (HOTI) and a trivial Mott insulator with the same symmetry eludes this paradigm. We present a theory of this quantum critical point (QCP) driven by the fluctuations and percolation of the domain walls between a HOTI and a trivial Mott insulator region. Due to the spinon zero modes that …
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…
In three dimensions, gapped phases can support "fractonic" quasiparticle excitations, which are either completely immobile or can only move within a low-dimensional submanifold, a peculiar topological phenomenon going beyond the conventional framework of topological quantum field theory. In this work we explore fractonic topological phases using three-dimensional coupled wire constructions, which have proven to be a successful tool to realize and characterize topological phases in two dimensions. We find that both gapped and gapless phases with fractonic excitations can emerge from the models.…
Spin liquids are conventionally described by gauge theories with a vector gauge field. However, there exists a wider class of spin liquids with higher rank tensors as the gauge variable. In this work, we focus on (3+1)-dimensional spin liquids described by U(1) symmetric tensor gauge theories, which have recently been shown to be stable gapless spin liquids. We investigate the particle structure of these tensor gauge theories and find that they have deep connections with the "fracton" models recently discovered by Vijay, Haah, and Fu. Tensor gauge theories have more conservation laws than the …
Fractons are a new type of quasiparticle which are immobile in isolation, but can often move by forming bound states. Fractons are found in a variety of physical settings, such as spin liquids and elasticity theory, and exhibit unusual phenomenology, such as gravitational physics and localization. The past several years have seen a surge of interest in these exotic particles, which have come to the forefront of modern condensed matter theory. In this review, we provide a broad treatment of fractons, ranging from pedagogical introductory material to discussions of recent advances in the field. …
We review what is known about fracton phases of quantum matter. Fracton phases are characterized by excitations that exhibit restricted mobility, being either immobile under local Hamiltonian dynamics, or mobile only in certain directions. They constitute a new class of quantum state of matter, which does not wholly fit into any of the existing paradigms, but which connects to areas including glassy quantum dynamics, topological order, spin liquids, elasticity theory, quantum information theory, and gravity. We begin by discussing gapped fracton phases, which may be described using exactly sol…
Coulomb spin liquids are topological magnetic states obeying an emergent Gauss' law. Little distinction has been made between different kinds of Coulomb liquids. Here we show how a series of distinct Coulomb liquids can be generated straightforwardly by varying the constraints on a classical spin system. This leads to pair creation, and coalescence, of topological defects of an underlying vector field. The latter makes higher-rank spin liquids, of recent interest in the context of fracton theories, with attendant multi-fold pinch points in the structure factor, appear naturally. New Coulomb li…
We investigate the magnetic field dependence of the physical properties of f^2-configuration systems with a crystalline-electric field (CEF) singlet ground state, which gives rise to a non- Fermi liquid (NFL) fixed point due to the competition between the Kondo-Yosida singlet and CEF singlet states. On the basis of the numerical renormalization group method, we find that the magnetic field breaks this NFL fixed point via two mechanisms: one causing the polarization of f-electrons and the other giving the "channel" anisotropy. These two mechanisms induce a difference in the magnetic field depen…
Using the numerical renormalization group method, we investigate an extended Anderson model, in which correlated electrons with the $Γ_1$(singlet)-$\Gamma4$(triplet) f$^2$ crystalline-electric-field (CEF) configuration hybridize with conduction electrons of $Γ_7$(doublet) and $Γ_8$ (quartet) under cubic $O_h$ symmetry, from a strong spin-orbit interaction limit. For the case of the parameters relevant to PrFe4P12, the system is under competition between the CEF singlet fixed point and the multichannel Kondo non-Fermi liquid fixed point arising from the quadrupolar coupling between the impurity…
The pyrochlore compound \tbti\ is known to remain in a spin-liquid state down to the lowest attainable temperature (0.05\,K), whereas current theories predict it should order into an antiferromagnetic structure. A number of models have been developed in order to resolve this discrepancy, but they could not obtain a spin-liquid ground state. We present here an explanation for the lack of magnetic order in \tbti\ based on the presence of a Jahn-Teller-like distortion from the local trigonal symmetry and on the physics of the two-singlet system coupled by exchange.
Higher-rank generalisations of electrodynamics have recently attracted considerable attention because of their ability to host "fracton" excitations, with connections to both quantum stabilizer codes and holography. However, the search for higher-rank gauge theories in experiment has been greatly hindered by the lack of materially-relevant microscopic models. Here we show how a spin liquid described by rank-2 $U(1)$ gauge theory can arise in a magnet on the breathing pyrochlore lattice. We identify Yb-based breathing pyrochlores as candidate systems, and make explicit predictions for how the r…
It is shown by the Wilson numerical renormalization group method that a strongly correlated impurity with a crystalline-electric-field singlet ground state in the f^2-configuration exhibits an anomalous local Fermi liquid state in which the static magnetic susceptibility remains an uncorrelated value while the NMR relaxation rate is enhanced in proportion to the square of the mass enhancement factor. Namely, the Korringa-Shiba relation is apparently broken. This feature closely matches the anomalous behaviors observed in UPt_3, i.e., the coexistence of an unenhanced value of the Knight shift d…
We study a magnetic field effect on the Non-Fermi Liquid (NFL) which arises around the quantum critical point (QCP) due to the competition between the f^2-crystalline-electric-field singlet and the Kondo-Yosida singlet states by using the numerical renormalization ground method. We show the characteristic temperature T_F^*, corresponding to a peak of a specific heat, is not affected by the magnetic field up to H_z^* which is determined by the distance from the QCP or characteristic energy scales of each singlet states. As a result, in the vicinity of QCP, there are parameter regions where the …
It is shown by the Wilson's numerical renormalization-group approach that Non-Fermi liquid (NFL) behaviors arise even for U-impurity with an $f^2$-singlet ground state, and all the puzzling behaviors of R$_{1-x}$U$_x$Ru$_2$Si$_2$ (R=Th, Y and La, $x\le 0.07$) can be explained on its basis. There exists an unstable NFL fixed point due to the balance between Kondo singlet and Crystalline-Electric-Field singlet ground states. For wide region in parameter space the system shows the NFL behavior as a transient phenomenon in temperature range accessible by experiment. Results for temperature depende…
Theoretical models of the spin-orbital liquid (SOL) FeSc$_2$S$_4$ have predicted it to be in close proximity to a quantum critical point separating a spin-orbital liquid phase from a long-range ordered magnetic phase. Here, we examine the magnetic excitations of FeSc$_2$S$_4$ through time-domain terahertz spectroscopy under an applied magnetic field. At low temperatures an excitation emerges that we attribute to a singlet-triplet excitation from the SOL ground state. A three-fold splitting of this excitation is observed as a function of applied magnetic field. As singlet-triplet excitations ar…
We analyze the stability of the spontaneously dimerized spin-liquid phase of the frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet - the J1-J2 model. The lowest triplet excitation, corresponding to breaking of a singlet bond, is found to be stable in the region 0.38 < J2/J1 < 0.62. In addition we find a stable low-energy collective singlet mode, which is closely related to the spontaneous violation of the discrete symmetry. Both modes are gapped in the quantum disordered phase and become gapless at the transition point to the Neel ordered phase (J2/J1=0.38). The spontaneous dimerization vanishes at the tr…
We exhibit an exactly solvable example of a SU(2) symmetric Majorana spin liquid phase, in which quenched disorder leads to random-singlet phenomenology. More precisely, we argue that a strong-disorder fixed point controls the low temperature susceptibility $χ(T)$ of an exactly solvable $S=1/2$ model on the decorated honeycomb lattice with quenched bond disorder and/or vacancies, leading to $χ(T) = {\mathcal C}/T+ {\mathcal D} T^{α(T) - 1}$ where $α(T) \rightarrow 0$ as $T \rightarrow 0$. The first term is a Curie tail that represents the emergent response of vacancy-induced spin textures spre…
Fascinating new phases of matter can emerge from strong electron interactions in solids. In recent years, a new exotic class of many-body phases, described by generalized electromagnetism of symmetric rank-2 electric and magnetic fields and immobile charge excitations dubbed \textit{fractons}, has attracted wide attention. Besides having interesting properties in their own right, the models with generalized electromagnetism are also closely related to gapped fracton quantum orders, new phases of dipole-covering systems, as well as quantum information and quantum gravity. However, experimental …
Conventional heavy Fermi liquid phases of Kondo lattices involve the formation of a "Kondo singlet" between the local moments and the conduction electrons. This Kondo singlet is usually taken to be in an internal s-wave angular momentum state. Here we explore the possibility of phases where the Kondo singlet has internal angular momentum that is d-wave. Such states are readily accessed in a slave boson mean field formulation, and are energetically favorable when the Kondo interaction is between a local moment and an electron at a nearest neighbor site. The properties of the d-wave Kondo liquid…
The quantum pyrochlore antiferromagnet is studied by perturbative expansions and exact diagonalization of small clusters. We find that the ground state is a spin-liquid state: The spin-spin correlation functions decay exponentially with distance and the correlation length never exceeds the interatomic distance. The calculated magnetic neutron diffraction cross section is in very good agreement with experiments performed on Y(Sc)Mn2. The low energy excitations are singlet-singlet ones, with a finite spin gap.
Emergent $U(1)$ gauge theories and artificial photons in frustrated magnets are outstanding examples of many-body collective phenomena. The classical and quantum regimes of these systems provide platforms for classical and quantum spin liquids, and are the subject of current active theoretical and experimental investigations. Recently, realizations of rank-2 $U(1)$ (R2-U1) gauge theories in three-dimensional frustrated magnets have been proposed. Such systems in the quantum regime may lead to the so-called fracton ordered phases -- a new class of topological order that has been associated with…
The spin-$1/2$ $J_1-J_2$ Heisenberg model on the square lattice represents one of the simplest examples in which the effets of magnetic interactions may suppress magnetic order, eventually leading to a pure quantum phase with no local order parameters. This model has been extensively studied in the last three decades, with conflicting results. Here, by using Gutzwiller-projected wave functions and recently developed methods to assess the low-energy spectrum, we show the existence of a level crossing between the lowest-energy triplet and singlet excitations for $J_2/J_1 \approx 0.54$. This fact…
Strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effects of heavy $d$-orbital elements have long been neglected in describing the ground states of their compounds thereby overlooking a variety of fascinating and yet unexplored magnetic and electronic states, until recently. The spin-orbit entangled electrons in such compounds can get stabilized into unusual spin-orbit multiplet $J$-states which warrants severe investigations. Here we show using detailed magnetic and thermodynamic studies and theoretical calculations the ground state of Ba$_3$ZnIr$_2$O$_9$, a 6$H$ hexagonal perovskite is a close realisation of…
It has recently been shown that there exists a class of stable gapless spin liquids in 3+1 dimensions described by higher rank tensor U(1) gauge fields, giving rise to an emergent tensor electromagnetism. The tensor gauge field of these theories couples naturally to subdimensional particles (such as fractons), which are restricted by gauge invariance to move only along lower-dimensional subspaces of the system. We here work out some of the basic generalized electromagnetic properties of subdimensional particles coupled to tensor electromagnetism, such as generalized electrostatic fields, poten…
For a $S=1$ system with even number of spins, the product states of two-body singlets, called the singlet pair states (SPSs), are overcomplete bases for the Hilbert space of many-body singlets. If the system contains odd number of spins, a singlet state can be decomposed as a superposition of all of the following configurations, in each configuration three of the spins form a three-body singlet and the remaining form two-body singlet pairs. This indicates that a $S=1$ spin liquid is especially a resonating-valence bond state. Although this conclusion is no longer valid for $SO(3)$ symmetric $S…
We introduce a Monte Carlo scheme based on sampling of Pfaffians to investigate Anderson's resonating-valence-bond (RVB) spin liquid wave function on the kagome and the triangular lattice. This eliminates a sign problem that prevents utilization of the valence bond basis in Monte Carlo studies for non-bipartite lattices. Studying lattice sizes of up to 600 sites, we calculate singlet-singlet and spin-spin correlations, and demonstrate how the lattice symmetry is restored within each topological sector as the system size is increased. Our findings are consistent with the expectation that the ne…
The spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice, which is closely realized in layered Mott insulators such as ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$, is one of the oldest and most enigmatic spin-1/2 lattice model. While the numerical evidence has accumulated in favor of a quantum spin liquid, the debate is still open as to whether it is a $Z_2$ spin liquid with very short-range correlations (some kind of Resonating Valence Bond spin liquid), or an algebraic spin-liquid with power-law correlations. To address this issue, we have pushed the program started by Rokhsar and Kivelson in their derivation of the …
Ground-state properties are examined for an extended two-channel Kondo model where the Hilbert space of the localized states is extended to include a singlet state in addition to the doublet states. By means of zero-th order variational wavefunctions with different symmetries, which are associated with the non-Fermi-liquid and the Fermi-liquid ground states, we demonstrate that the channel exchange coupling via the localized singlet state stabilizes the Fermi-liquid wavefunction. The ground-state phase diagrams, which are in qualitative agreement with the previous study performed by Koga and S…
The nature of the randomness-induced quantum spin liquid state, the random-singlet state, is investigated in two dimensions (2D) by means of the exact-diagonalization and the Hams-de Raedt methods for several frustrated lattices, e.g., the triangular, the kagome and the J_1-J_2 square lattices. Properties of the ground state, the low-energy excitations and the finite-temperature thermodynamic quantities are investigated. The ground state and the low-lying excited states consist of nearly isolated singlet-dimers, clusters of resonating singlet-dimers, and orphan spins. Low-energy excitations ar…
We present numerical results for finite-temperature $T>0$ thermodynamic quantities, entropy $s(T)$, uniform susceptibility $χ_0(T)$ and the Wilson ratio $R(T)$, for several isotropic $S=1/2$ extended Heisenberg models which are prototype models for planar quantum spin liquids. We consider in this context the frustrated $J_1$-$J_2$ model on kagome, triangular, and square lattice, as well as the Heisenberg model on triangular lattice with the ring exchange. Our analysis reveals that typically in the spin-liquid parameter regimes the low-temperature $s(T)$ remains considerable, while $χ_0(T)$ is …
The one-band Hubbard model on the pyrochlore lattice contains an extended quantum spin-liquid phase formed from the manifold of singlet dimer coverings. We demonstrate that the massive and deconfined spinon excitations of this system have fermionic statistics. Holonic quasiparticles introduced by doping are also fermions and we explain the origin of this counterintuitive result.
