Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 2604.20173

Field-Induced Selective Spin Gap Closure and Quantum Criticality in BaNd$_2$ZnS$_5$

Sangyun Lee·A. J. Woods·B. Billingsley·Shengzhi Zhang·R. Movshovich·S. M. Thomas·C. A. Mizzi·B. Maiorov·Shuyi Li·Chunjing Jia·Tai Kong·Eun Sang Choi·Vivien S. Zapf·Minseong Lee
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We report thermodynamic evidence for field-induced mode-selective quantum criticality in the layered rare-earth magnet BaNd2ZnS5 (BNZS). Below the Neel temperature TN = 2.9 K, spin-orbit-entangled Nd3+ moments form two symmetry-inequivalent low-energy spin-excitation modes arising from Kramers doublet physics under a magnetic field, with distinct gaps Delta_L and Delta_H. For magnetic fields applied along the [110] direction, the lower-energy gap Delta_L softens continuously and collapses at a critical field Hc ~ 2 T, while the higher-energy gap Delta_H remains gapped, leaving the system in an intermediate partially critical phase. Despite the partial nature of the criticality, thermodynamic measurements reveal a continuous quantum phase transition. The ac susceptibility shows universal scaling behavior, with chi_ac(T, H) collapsing onto a single scaling function and following chi_ac ~ T^-0.2 at criticality. A finite residual Sommerfeld coefficient gamma_0 further indicates the emergence of gapless excitations confined to a single symmetry sector near the quantum critical point. In contrast to conventional quantum criticality based on global softening of low-energy excitations, BNZS exhibits a selective breakdown of Kramers-doublet excitations due to its strong anisotropic interactions. Our results establish BNZS as a spin-orbit-coupled rare-earth magnet where quantum criticality is not global but mode-selective, with anisotropic interactions enabling independent criticality in distinct excitation sectors.

Explore related subjects

cond-mat.str-el

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Sangyun Lee, A. J. Woods, B. Billingsley, Shengzhi Zhang, R. Movshovich, S. M. Thomas, C. A. Mizzi, B. Maiorov, Shuyi Li, Chunjing Jia, Tai Kong, Eun Sang Choi, Vivien S. Zapf, Minseong Lee. 2026-04-22. Field-Induced Selective Spin Gap Closure and Quantum Criticality in BaNd$_2$ZnS$_5$. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.20173

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Exotic Spin Excitation Continuum in a Weakly Coupled Quantum Chainsaw Antiferromagnet

Collective motions in strongly interacting magnets involve many spins and are often described in terms of integer-spin excitations. However, in certain cases, the collective motion can behave as if these integer excitations break apart into smaller, particle-like entities with unusual properties. Such fractionalized excitations in quantum magnets are commonly associated either with topological order in two dimensions or with criticality in one dimension. It remains unclear how these distinct mechanisms are connected across a dimensional crossover. Here we investigate the Ti-based quantum antiferromagnet, $Cs_{8}LiNa_{3}Ti_{12}F_{48}$, in which $Ti^{3+}$ ($3d^{1}$, $S=1/2$) ions interact antiferromagnetically within distorted kagome planes. Our inelastic neutron scattering study on a single crystal reveals a frustrated network of weakly coupled spin-$1/2$ chainsaws, realizing a regime of dimensional frustration in which interchain couplings fail to establish coherent two-dimensional order. The magnetic excitation spectrum exhibits a strong continuum spanning the full measured momentum and energy phase space. In addition, the dynamic spin correlation function displays rod-like scattering in momentum space, indicating a quasi-one-dimensional nature of the magnetic correlations. These results point to fractionalized excitations with intrinsically directional character, demonstrating that signatures of one-dimensional criticality can persist within a two-dimensional lattice. Our findings establish anisotropic fractionalization as a distinct organizing principle for quantum-disordered states.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2026

Quantum-interference-driven orbital density wave and high-temperature superconductivity in trilayer nickelates

Intertwined charge-density-wave (CDW) and spin-density-wave (SDW) orders are a hallmark of high-temperature superconducting multilayer nickelates. In trilayer La4Ni3O_{10}, charge correlations develop at temperatures above the onset of long-range spin order, and the characteristic ordering wavevectors satisfy $Q_{cdw} \approx 2Q_{sdw}$. Here, using a density-wave equation with vertex corrections, we show that quantum interference between short-range SDW fluctuations at $q \approx Q_{sdw}$ on the outer NiO2 layers generates an inter-outer-layer bond order at $Q_{cdw} \approx 2 Q_{sdw}$. This bond order induces a pronounced inner-layer-centered orbital order, with antiphase modulations of the Ni $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ and $d_{x^2-y^2}$ occupations, producing strong orbital polarization but only weak total charge modulation. This intertwined bond-and-orbital order accounts for the layer-selective electronic reconstruction inferred from NMR/NQR and is consistent with Raman spectroscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy measurements. The same orbital and spin fluctuations also cooperate to stabilize $s_{\pm}$-wave superconductivity through $M_z$ mirror-parity selection rules. Our results provide a unified microscopic framework for intertwined density-wave order and high-Tc superconductivity in multilayer nickelates.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2026

Model Fractional Quantum Hall States on Lattices: Exact Parent Hamiltonians and Routes to Realization

Recent advances in engineered quantum platforms have enabled the realization of bosonic Laughlin states at $ν=1/2$ and brought non-Abelian topological phases within experimental reach. A central theoretical challenge is to develop a unified framework connecting lattice fractional quantum Hall (FQH) model states, exact parent Hamiltonians, and experimentally accessible interactions. We systematically construct Hermitian parent Hamiltonians for which continuum lowest Landau level (LLL) model states sampled on lattice sites are exact zero modes. Using these model manifolds as quantitative references, we find that, within the projected lattice LLL at the flux densities studied, short-range density interactions stabilize Laughlin ground-state manifolds at $ν=1/3$ and $1/4$, while two-body onsite repulsion supports a Moore--Read triplet at $ν=1$. Full multiband calculations reveal a sharp contrast: the Laughlin manifolds remain robust against interband mixing on the studied tori, whereas the Moore--Read triplet becomes less spectrally isolated and eventually undergoes a level crossing with competing states near the interband scale. Our framework provides a theoretical foundation for using lattice model states to guide the search for experimentally accessible Abelian and non-Abelian FQH states.

cond-mat.str-el↗