Emergent Gauge Fields in Band Insulators

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Han, Zhaoyu, Kivelson, Steven
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Han, Zhaoyu
Kivelson, Steven
author_facet Han, Zhaoyu
Kivelson, Steven
contents By explicit microscopic construction involving a mapping to a quantum vertex model subject to the `ice rule,' we show that an electronically `trivial' band insulator with suitable vibrational (phonon) degrees of freedom can host a ``resonating valence-bond'' state - a quantum phase with emergent gauge fields. This novel type of band insulator is identifiable by the existence of emergent gapless `photon' modes and deconfined excitations, the latter of which carry non-quantized mobile charges. We suggest that such phases may exist in the quantum regimes of various nearly ferroelectric materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_17539
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Emergent Gauge Fields in Band Insulators
Han, Zhaoyu
Kivelson, Steven
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
By explicit microscopic construction involving a mapping to a quantum vertex model subject to the `ice rule,' we show that an electronically `trivial' band insulator with suitable vibrational (phonon) degrees of freedom can host a ``resonating valence-bond'' state - a quantum phase with emergent gauge fields. This novel type of band insulator is identifiable by the existence of emergent gapless `photon' modes and deconfined excitations, the latter of which carry non-quantized mobile charges. We suggest that such phases may exist in the quantum regimes of various nearly ferroelectric materials.
title Emergent Gauge Fields in Band Insulators
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.17539