Spectroscopic signatures of fractionalization in octupolar quantum spin ice

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Autori principali: Desrochers, Félix, Kim, Yong Baek
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2023
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author Desrochers, Félix
Kim, Yong Baek
author_facet Desrochers, Félix
Kim, Yong Baek
contents Recent investigations on the dipolar-octupolar compounds Ce$_2$Zr$_2$O$_7$ and Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ suggest that they may stabilize so-called $π$-flux octupolar quantum spin ice ($π$-O-QSI), a novel three-dimensional quantum spin liquid hosting emergent photons. Confirmation of such an exotic phase would require the prediction of a distinctive signature and its subsequent experimental observation. So far, however, theoretical predictions for any such sharp smoking-gun signatures are lacking. In this Letter, we thoroughly investigate O-QSI using an extension of gauge mean-field theory. This framework produces a phase diagram consistent with previous studies and an energy-integrated neutron scattering signal with intensity-modulated rod motifs, as reported in experiments and numerical studies. We predict that the dynamical spin structure factor of $π$-O-QSI is characterized by a broad continuum with three distinctive peaks as a consequence of the two mostly flat spinon bands. These three peaks should be measurable by high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering. Such spectroscopic signatures would be clear evidence for the realization of $π$-flux quantum spin ice.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2301_05240
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spectroscopic signatures of fractionalization in octupolar quantum spin ice
Desrochers, Félix
Kim, Yong Baek
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Recent investigations on the dipolar-octupolar compounds Ce$_2$Zr$_2$O$_7$ and Ce$_2$Sn$_2$O$_7$ suggest that they may stabilize so-called $π$-flux octupolar quantum spin ice ($π$-O-QSI), a novel three-dimensional quantum spin liquid hosting emergent photons. Confirmation of such an exotic phase would require the prediction of a distinctive signature and its subsequent experimental observation. So far, however, theoretical predictions for any such sharp smoking-gun signatures are lacking. In this Letter, we thoroughly investigate O-QSI using an extension of gauge mean-field theory. This framework produces a phase diagram consistent with previous studies and an energy-integrated neutron scattering signal with intensity-modulated rod motifs, as reported in experiments and numerical studies. We predict that the dynamical spin structure factor of $π$-O-QSI is characterized by a broad continuum with three distinctive peaks as a consequence of the two mostly flat spinon bands. These three peaks should be measurable by high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering. Such spectroscopic signatures would be clear evidence for the realization of $π$-flux quantum spin ice.
title Spectroscopic signatures of fractionalization in octupolar quantum spin ice
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.05240