arXiv · 1701.01243
Chiral spin liquid on kagome antiferromagnet induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction
Abstract
The quantum spin liquid material herbertsmithite is described by an antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice with non-negligible Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction~(DMI). A well established phase transition to the $\mathbf q=0$ long-range order occurs in this model when the DMI strength increases, but the precise nature of a small-DMI phase remains controversial. Here, we describe a new phase obtained from Schwinger-boson mean-field theory that is stable at small DMI, and which can explain the dispersionless spectrum seen in inelastic neutron scattering experiment by Han et al (Nature (London) 492, 406 (2012)}). It is a time-reversal symmetry breaking $\mathbb Z_2$ spin liquid, with the unique property of a small and constant spin gap in an extended region of the Brillouin zone. The phase diagram as a function of DMI and spin size is given, and dynamical spin structure factors are presented.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Laura Messio, Samuel Bieri, Claire Lhuillier, Bernard Bernu. 2017-01-05. Chiral spin liquid on kagome antiferromagnet induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.118.267201
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.