Dirac spin liquid as an "unnecessary" quantum critical point on square lattice antiferromagnets

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Zhang, Yunchao, Song, Xue-Yang, Senthil, T.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Zhang, Yunchao
Song, Xue-Yang
Senthil, T.
author_facet Zhang, Yunchao
Song, Xue-Yang
Senthil, T.
contents Quantum spin liquids are exotic phases of quantum matter especially pertinent to many modern condensed matter systems. Dirac spin liquids (DSLs) are a class of gapless quantum spin liquids that do not have a quasi-particle description and are potentially realized in a wide variety of spin $1/2$ magnetic systems on $2d$ lattices. In particular, the DSL in square lattice spin-$1/2$ magnets is described at low energies by $(2+1)d$ quantum electrodynamics with $N_f=4$ flavors of massless Dirac fermions minimally coupled to an emergent $U(1)$ gauge field. The existence of a relevant, symmetry-allowed monopole perturbation renders the DSL on the square lattice intrinsically unstable. We argue that the DSL describes a stable continuous phase transition within the familiar Neel phase (or within the Valence Bond Solid (VBS) phase). In other words, the DSL is an "unnecessary" quantum critical point within a single phase of matter. Our result offers a novel view of the square lattice DSL in that the critical spin liquid can exist within either the Neel or VBS state itself, and does not require leaving these conventional states.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_11654
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dirac spin liquid as an "unnecessary" quantum critical point on square lattice antiferromagnets
Zhang, Yunchao
Song, Xue-Yang
Senthil, T.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
High Energy Physics - Theory
Quantum spin liquids are exotic phases of quantum matter especially pertinent to many modern condensed matter systems. Dirac spin liquids (DSLs) are a class of gapless quantum spin liquids that do not have a quasi-particle description and are potentially realized in a wide variety of spin $1/2$ magnetic systems on $2d$ lattices. In particular, the DSL in square lattice spin-$1/2$ magnets is described at low energies by $(2+1)d$ quantum electrodynamics with $N_f=4$ flavors of massless Dirac fermions minimally coupled to an emergent $U(1)$ gauge field. The existence of a relevant, symmetry-allowed monopole perturbation renders the DSL on the square lattice intrinsically unstable. We argue that the DSL describes a stable continuous phase transition within the familiar Neel phase (or within the Valence Bond Solid (VBS) phase). In other words, the DSL is an "unnecessary" quantum critical point within a single phase of matter. Our result offers a novel view of the square lattice DSL in that the critical spin liquid can exist within either the Neel or VBS state itself, and does not require leaving these conventional states.
title Dirac spin liquid as an "unnecessary" quantum critical point on square lattice antiferromagnets
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.11654