No Arabic abstract
We numerically study the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the kagom{e} lattice using the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method. We find that the ground state is a magnetically disordered spin liquid, characterized by an exponential decay of spin-spin correlation function in real space and a magnetic structure factor showing system-size independent peaks at commersurate antiferromangetic wavevectors. We obtain a spin triplet excitation gap $Delta E(S=1)=0.055pm 0.005$ by extrapolation based on the large size results, and confirm the presence of gapless singlet excitations. The physical nature of such an exotic spin liquid is also discussed.
The Nd-langasite compound contains planes of magnetic Nd3+ ions on a lattice topologically equivalent to a kagom{e} net. The magnetic susceptibility does not reveal any signature of long-range ordering down to 2 K but rather a correlated paramagnetism with significant antiferromagnetic interactions between the Nd and a single-ion anisotropy due to crystal field effect. Inelastic neutron scattering on Nd-langasite powder and single-crystal allowed to probe its very peculiar low temperature dynamical magnetic correlations. They present unusual dispersive features and are broadly localized in wave-vector Q revealing a structure factor associated to characteristics short range-correlations between the magnetic atoms. From comparison with theoretical calculations, these results are interpreted as a possible experimental observation of a spin liquid state in an anisotropic kagom{e} antiferromagnet.
Nearest-neighbor interacting S = 1/2 spins on the ideal Kagom{e} lattice are predicted to form a variety of novel quantum entangled states, including quantum spin-liquid (SL) and valence bond solid (VBS) phases. In real materials, the presence of additional perturbative spin interactions may further expand the variety of entangled states, which recent theoretical analyses show are identifiable through the spontaneous loss of particular discrete point group symmetries. Here we comprehensively resolve the ground state point group symmetries of the prototypical Kagom{e} SL candidate ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$ (Herbertsmithite) using a combination of optical ellipsometry and wavelength-dependent multi-harmonic optical polarimetry. We uncover a subtle parity breaking monoclinic structural distortion at a temperature above the nearest-neighbor exchange energy scale. Surprisingly, the parity-breaking order parameter is dramatically enhanced upon cooling and closely tracks the build-up of nearest-neighbor spin correlations, suggesting that it is energetically favored by the SL state. The refined low temperature symmetry group greatly restricts the number of viable ground states, and, in the perturbative limit, points toward the formation of a nematic $Z_2$ striped SL ground state - a SL analogue of a liquid crystal.
The Berry curvature in magnetic systems is attracting interest due to the potential tunability of topological features via the magnetic structure. $f$-electrons, with their large spin-orbit coupling, abundance of non-collinear magnetic structures and high electronic tunability, are attractive candidates to search for tunable topological properties. In this study, we measure anomalous Hall effect (AHE) in the distorted kagom$acute{e}$ heavy fermion antiferromagnet U$_3$Ru$_4$Al$_{12}$. A large intrinsic AHE in high fields reveals the presence of a large Berry curvature. Moreover, the fields required to obtain the large Berry curvature are significantly different between $B parallel a$ and $B parallel a^*$, providing a mechanism to control the topological response in this system. Theoretical calculations illustrate that this sensitivity may be due to the heavy fermion character of the electronic structure. These results shed light on the Berry curvature of a strongly correlated band structure in magnetically frustrated heavy fermion materials, but also emphasize 5$f$-electrons as an ideal playground for studying field-tuned topological states.
Microscopic spin interactions on a deformed Kagom{e} lattice of volborthite are investigated through magnetoelastic couplings. A negative longitudinal magnetostriction $Delta L<0$ in the $b$ axis is observed, which depends on the magnetization $M$ with a peculiar relation of $Delta L/L propto M^{1.3}$. Based on the exchange striction model, it is argued that the negative magnetostriction originates from a pantograph-like lattice change of the Cu-O-Cu chain in the $b$ axis, and that the peculiar dependence arises from the local spin correlation. This idea is supported by DFT+$U$ calculations simulating the lattice change and a finite-size calculation of the spin correlation, indicating that the recently proposed coupled-trimer model is a plausible one.
We clarify the existence of several magnetization plateaux for the kagome $S=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model in a magnetic field. Using approximate or exact localized magnon eigenstates, we are able to describe in a similar manner the plateau states that occur for magnetization per site $m=1/3$, $5/9$, and $7/9$ of the saturation value. These results are confirmed using large-scale Exact Diagonalization on lattices up to 63 sites.