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Yasir Iqbal

Publications and source records attributed to Yasir Iqbal.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Dimensional reduction by singlet blockade in the distorted kagome magnet YCa$_3$(CrO)$_3$(BO$_3$)$_4$

The distorted kagome borate YCa$_3$(CrO)$_3$(BO$_3$)$_4$ has a Curie-Weiss temperature of -140 K and shows no magnetic order down to $65$ mK. We determine its Heisenberg Hamiltonian by density-functional energy mapping, obtaining twenty-four symmetry-inequivalent Cr-Cr exchange paths dominated by $J_1=116$ K, and measure the susceptibility, specific heat and ac susceptibility to $50$ mK. The Hamiltonian does not by itself account for the absence of order: simulated classically it orders at $10$ K, a factor of $154$ above the bound. We trace the gap to the site symmetry of the $P6_3$ structure, which divides the exchange network in two: $J_1$ binds two thirds of the Cr into dimers, while the remaining third forms uniform spin-$3/2$ chains along $c$ through a weaker $J_2=33$ K. The chains share no direct bond, and each of the fourteen paths leaving a chain terminates on a spin locked into a dimer singlet of gap $Δ=J_1$. This singlet blockade demotes the interchain coupling to second order; summed over paths with their relative Néel parity it falls to a few tens of millikelvin, against $9.8$ K at first order, and what survives is frustrated on the kagome lattice the chains themselves form. Treating the dimers exactly and the chains by exact diagonalization accounts, without free parameters, for the position of the magnetic specific-heat maximum and the entropy recovered by $100$ K, but not for the susceptibility, which additionally requires a broad distribution of exchange couplings that we attribute to Ca/Y site mixing. That disorder also impacts the thermodynamics at lowest temperatures: below $0.7$ K the magnetic specific heat follows a field-robust $T^2$ law, which excludes one-dimensional chains with gapless excitations, Goldstone modes and spinons alike and implies a linear density of predominantly non-magnetic states, matched by the singlet-triplet gaps the disorder generates.

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arXiv2026

Kitaev-Heisenberg model on the square-hexagon-dodecagon lattice

We study the spin-$1/2$ Kitaev-Heisenberg model on the square-hexagon-dodecagon lattice with a symmetry-preserving tri-coloring of the Kitaev exchanges. We focus on two cases: (i) the pure Kitaev model with anisotropic exchanges and (ii) the Kitaev-Heisenberg model with isotropic Kitaev exchange. In the absence of Heisenberg interactions, we use the standard mapping of the Kitaev model onto a quadratic Majorana-fermion problem in a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ gauge field. We find a gapped energy spectrum throughout the positive-coupling phase diagram, except at a single point where the twofold-degenerate energy bands form a Dirac cone. This unique gapped region corresponds to a toric code phase. However, depending on the couplings, vortex excitations on square, hexagonal, and dodecagonal plaquettes realize three distinct relative assignments to the $e$ and $m$ anyons. We determine these relative assignments from the physical fermion parity of the vortex sectors and locate their boundaries by tracking zero crossings of vortex-bound Majorana levels. For the isotropic Kitaev-Heisenberg model, we combine graph-based projected entangled-pair-state calculations, exact diagonalizations, and linear spin-wave theory to study the entire phase diagram. Apart from the toric code topological phases that are robust around the Kitaev limits, we obtain four collinear magnetically ordered phases that can be characterized by their local and relative orderings of hexagonal plaquettes. We also identify a special point at which the ground state is a product state.

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arXiv2026

Charge order before superconductivity in the doped kagome Dirac spin liquid

Doping a quantum spin liquid is expected to produce a superconductor. We show that for the Dirac spin liquid on the kagome lattice the doped charge orders first. The charge is carried by a chargon doublet whose two gauge components are degenerate on the square and triangular lattices, and the kagome lattice, as the line graph of the honeycomb lattice, splits them. One component disperses and condenses in four valleys. The other has flat lowest bands and stays empty over a window in the bare mass whose width, $(\sqrt6-1)t$, follows from the band structure alone. Within that window, in the mean-field chargon theory constructed from the projective symmetry group of the spin liquid, the doped state forms charge and loop-current crystals with the electromagnetic U(1) unbroken and no superconductivity. Pairing requires a gapped descendant of the spin liquid as the parent and then takes the form of a pair-density wave, with no uniform $d+id$ channel at leading order and none at any order for the crystals at the $M$ point. The predicted charge order is odd under the twofold rotation and has no cubic invariant, which distinguishes it from the charge order of the kagome metals.

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arXiv2026

Evidence for a $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ Dirac spin liquid in the generalized Shastry-Sutherland model

We present a multimethod investigation of the recently reported quantum spin liquid (QSL) phase in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the Shastry-Sutherland lattice. A comprehensive projective symmetry group classification of fermionic mean-field Ansätze on this lattice yields 46 U(1) and 80 $\mathbb{Z}_2$ states. Using density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) and exact diagonalization, we find that the Shastry-Sutherland model and the square-lattice $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet share the same QSL phase. We therefore map our Ansätze to those on the square lattice and identify the counterpart of the square-lattice $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Dirac QSL (Z2Azz13) in the Shastry-Sutherland system. Using state-of-the-art variational Monte Carlo with Gutzwiller-projected wavefunctions improved by Lánczos steps, we demonstrate excellent agreement in energies and correlation functions between a gapless (Dirac) $\mathbb{Z}_2$ spin liquid, characterized by only a few variational parameters, and results from neural quantum states and DMRG. Within a unified variational family that continuously connects the spin liquid to the adjacent Néel and plaquette valence-bond-crystal states, we locate both phase boundaries in an unbiased way from order-parameter finite-size scaling and correlation-ratio crossings, and find that both order parameters vanish continuously. Finally, the recently developed Keldysh formulation of the pseudo-fermion functional renormalization group yields a dynamical spin structure factor with features consistent with Dirac cones, providing strong independent evidence for a Dirac QSL ground state. Our identification of a $d$-wave pairing $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Dirac QSL is consistent with recently observed signatures of QSL behavior in Pr$_2$Ga$_2$BeO$_7$ and makes predictions for future experiments.

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arXiv2026

From dimensional reduction to tetramerization in mixed ferro-antiferro breathing pyrochlores

We study the spin-1/2 nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model on the breathing pyrochlore lattice in the mixed ferro-antiferromagnetic regime, where one tetrahedral sublattice is antiferromagnetic and the other ferromagnetic. The classical ground-state manifold is then that of the nearest-neighbor face-centered-cubic (fcc) antiferromagnet built from composite tetrahedral moments. Classical Monte Carlo simulations and the self-consistent Gaussian approximation show that thermal order-by-disorder lifts its subextensive degeneracy and selects the collinear Type-I state with wave vector $X=(1,0,0)$ through a strongly first-order transition. Pseudofermion functional renormalization group calculations for $S=1/2$ and $S=1$ reveal a nonmagnetic window adjacent to the decoupled antiferromagnetic-tetrahedron limit, beyond which $X$ order reappears. Density matrix renormalization group calculations show that this window is not featureless: the antiferromagnetic tetrahedra develop nearly ideal tetramer correlations, with four bonds carrying $\langle\mathbf{S}_i\cdot\mathbf{S}_j\rangle\simeq-1/2$ and the two opposite bonds $\simeq+1/4$, while the structure factor retains broad maxima at $X$. A third-order effective Hamiltonian in the tetrahedral-singlet manifold explains this: reversing the sign of the inter-tetrahedron coupling converts Tsunetsugu's dimer selection into a uniform tetramer selection, as confirmed by exact diagonalization. A dynamic high-temperature expansion traces how local tetrahedral excitations give way to low-energy $X$-centered spectral weight. Finally, we place density-functional parameters for eight structures of spin-3/2 breathing chromium thiospinels in the classical phase diagram. The mapping reproduces the $\mathbf{k}=(1,0,0)$ order of CuInCr$_4$S$_8$, accounts for the absence of order in LiGaCr$_4$S$_8$, and predicts Type-I order for LiInCr$_4$S$_8$.

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arXiv2026

Symmetry-resolved monopoles and stability criteria for an $N_f=12$ Dirac spin liquid on the maple-leaf lattice

The $\mathrm{U}(1)$ Dirac spin liquid provides a useful organizing framework for frustrated magnets: it offers an algebraic parent state from which competing orders, confinement patterns, and low-energy spectral features can be understood. Whether such a state can occur as a stable ground state of a two-dimensional spin Hamiltonian remains an open question, because monopole operators of the compact gauge field can proliferate and confine the spinons. Here we determine the symmetry quantum numbers of the fundamental monopoles of a maple-leaf-lattice Dirac spin liquid whose generic six-node regime realizes QED$_3$ with $N_f=12$ two-component Dirac fermions. The charge-one monopoles span a $924$-dimensional complex representation. In the spin-singlet, zero-momentum, zero-$C_6$-angular-momentum sector we find five complex charge-one directions, of which three are mapped to their Hermitian conjugates under time reversal. Their real and imaginary Hermitian combinations therefore supply six independent monopole perturbations that are trivial under translations, $C_6$, time reversal, and spin rotation. The Dirac spin liquid phase is thus not protected by symmetry exclusion of charge-one monopoles: its stability depends on whether these allowed perturbations are relevant in the renormalization group sense. Existing large-$N_f$ and numerical estimates of the charge-one monopole scaling dimension lie close to the relevance threshold, making the maple-leaf lattice a concrete platform for testing the stability of compact QED$_3$ in a quantum magnet. Our complete monopole classification also identifies the spin, momentum, and rotation sectors in which monopole excitations should appear, providing symmetry-resolved benchmarks for exact-diagonalization and variational tests of the $N_f=12$ Dirac spin liquid.

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arXiv2026

Chiral Color Ice: Exact Local Handedness Constraints and Möbius Zero Modes in Frustrated Magnets

Local constraints govern the low-energy physics of frustrated matter, but familiar ice-type rules constrain flux-like quantities and are insensitive to handedness. Here we show that handedness itself can be imposed as an exact local quantum constraint without selecting an axis in spin space. We construct positive-semidefinite, SU(2)-invariant parent Hamiltonians whose complete zero-energy space on a tetrahedron has a prescribed chirality sign, rather than selecting a particular chiral wave function. For spin-1/2 the local term is a rank-one projector onto a chiral tetrahedral singlet, while for arbitrary spin it factorizes as $B^\dagger B$ through a singlet-annihilation operator, with a completely characterized kernel given by the span of the globally rotated chiral color-ice states. For coherent states, the same zero-energy condition becomes an $S$-independent nonlinear constraint in which three spin directions determine the fourth through a Möbius transformation; compositions of these maps define constraint holonomies on extended lattices. Connecting the same local constraint in different ways produces qualitatively different collective regimes: corner-sharing lattices retain exponentially large quantum ground-state kernels, with rigorous lower bounds exceeding conventional ice benchmarks; edge-sharing lattices support subdimensional plane or line zero modes; while triangular constructions suppress nonuniform coherent deformations and contain the complete Anderson tower of tetrahedral magnetic order at exactly zero energy. Two inequivalent triangular coverings further show that harmonic zero-mode counting does not determine the size of the quantum kernel. These results establish a tractable setting in which local handedness, nonlinear constraint geometry, and quantum degeneracy can be disentangled and related directly to the connectivity of the constraint network.

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arXiv2026

Parent Hamiltonian construction of generalized Calogero-Sutherland models

The Calogero-Sutherland model is a paradigmatic integrable system describing one-dimensional non-relativistic particles with inverse-square-type interactions. At interaction strength $λ=2$, the CSM exhibits a deep connection to anyon physics, featuring the Laughlin-Jastrow polynomial as its exact ground state. Motivated by this structure, we develop a general reverse-engineering construction of positive semidefinite continuum parent Hamiltonians for trial states admitting a rational conformal field theory description with central charge $c<1$. By leveraging the null-vector structure of the underlying primary fields and the associated Belavin-Polyakov-Zamolodchikov equations, we derive corresponding many-body annihilation operators. We then apply this construction explicitly to the Moore-Read and $k=3$ Read-Rezayi states-relating to Ising and Fibonacci anyons, respectively-obtaining continuum Hamiltonians for which these Jack-polynomial states, viewed as one-dimensional chiral spin liquid wave functions, are exact zero modes. We emphasize, however, that our construction does not by itself establish ground-state uniqueness or determine the nature of the excitation spectrum.

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arXiv2026

Higgs criticality of Dirac spin liquids on depleted triangular lattices

We investigate Higgs criticality in candidate U(1) Dirac spin liquids across a family of depleted triangular lattices: the triangular, kagome, and maple-leaf geometries. For each, we identify the symmetry-allowed spinon-pairing channel connecting the U(1) state to a proximate $\mathbb{Z}_2$ spin liquid, deriving the corresponding quantum electrodynamics (QED$_3$)-Higgs theory. While the triangular and kagome lattices share a low-energy description with $N_f=4$ Dirac fermions, the maple-leaf lattice yields an analogous theory with $N_f=12$ and a distinct nodal structure where the Dirac cones can move along high-symmetry lines in momentum space instead of gapping out. Using a large-$N_{f,b}$ expansion, we compute critical exponents and the scaling dimensions of the symmetry-allowed Yukawa couplings. Although Higgs-field fluctuations and a large fermion flavor number strongly suppress the Yukawa coupling---pushing the maple-leaf lattice closer to stability than its counterparts---we find that the coupling remains relevant at leading order in all three cases, substantially reducing its scaling dimension on the maple-leaf lattice and asymptotically breaking Lorentz and conformal invariance. Ultimately, our results provide a unified framework demonstrating how the interplay between fermion flavor count and nodal geometry dictates the fate of the QED$_3$-Higgs transition.

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arXiv2026

Classification and correlation signatures of chiral spin liquids on the pyrochlore lattice

We present a systematic classification and variational study of chiral quantum spin liquids on the pyrochlore lattice based on fermionic parton constructions. Focusing on chiral $\mathrm{U(1)}$ and $\mathbb{Z}_2$ spin-liquid Ansätze, we characterize their symmetry properties, flux structures, and low-energy spinon spectra within a projective symmetry group framework, and incorporate gauge fluctuations through Gutzwiller-projected wave functions studied by variational Monte Carlo. From the equal-time spin structure factor, we develop correlation-based diagnostics that distinguish gauge-dominated Coulomb phases from states with substantial matter-field and short-range contributions. Distinct chiral flux sectors, though close in energy, exhibit markedly different degrees of emergent $\mathrm{U(1)}$ gauge-field dominance, reflected in the geometry and contrast of pinch-point singularities. Although these states are not competitive ground states of the nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model, they define a physically meaningful family of proximate chiral phases relevant to extended pyrochlore Hamiltonians.

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arXiv2026

Microscopic Spin-1 Parent Hamiltonians for Emergent Valence-Bond Loop Manifolds

We construct an exact spin-$1$ parent Hamiltonian for constrained valence-bond loop manifolds on the checkerboard and pyrochlore lattices. The Hamiltonian is local, SU(2)- and time-reversal-invariant, and built from positive-semidefinite projectors acting on triangular faces. Each projector removes only the maximally polarized state of a triangle, so the model is frustration-free. Its zero-energy states are generated by an AKLT-like construction in which each spin-$1$ moment is resolved into two virtual spin-$\tfrac12$ degrees of freedom, singlets are formed inside every crossed plaquette or tetrahedron, and the physical spin-$1$ Hilbert space is recovered by projection. The resulting ground states are fully packed singlet-loop states on the corner-sharing lattice. Thus, a loop or dimer constraint, usually introduced as part of an effective Rokhsar--Kivelson description, appears here as the exact zero-energy manifold of a microscopic spin Hamiltonian. We analyze spin correlations within this manifold and show that, for a fixed loop covering, they are determined by loop connectivity. We also project symmetry-allowed perturbations into the ground-state manifold and derive the resulting low-energy pseudospin dynamics. The checkerboard and pyrochlore cases differ sharply. On the pyrochlore lattice, tetrahedral symmetry removes simple local bias terms, and the leading nontrivial next-nearest-neighbour Heisenberg perturbation gives an emergent spin-$\tfrac12$ XY model on the diamond lattice of tetrahedron centers. These results give an exact spin-$1$ microscopic starting point for constrained valence-bond physics in two and three dimensions, and show how loop, dimer, and gauge-theoretic descriptions can be approached from a small-spin, SU(2)-invariant frustrated magnet.

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arXiv2026

Fermionic parton theory of Rydberg $\mathbb{Z}_2$ quantum spin liquids

Programmable quantum simulators based on neutral atom arrays today offer powerful platforms for studying strongly correlated phases of quantum matter. Here, we employ the projective symmetry group framework to describe the symmetry fractionalization patterns in a topologically ordered $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ quantum spin liquid (QSL) synthesized in such a Rydberg array on the ruby lattice. By systematically comparing the static structure factors of all possible mean-field $\textit{Ansätze}$ against density-matrix renormalization group calculations, we identify a promising candidate for the precise $\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ QSL realized microscopically. We also present detailed analyses of the dynamical structure factors as a reference for future experiments and showcase how these spin correlations can differentiate between varied QSL $\textit{Ansätze}$.

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arXiv2026

What Makes Three-Dimensional Quantum Spin Liquids Possible?

Quantum spin liquids are often introduced through a low-dimensional intuition: weak coordination and strong zero-point motion frustrate conventional magnetic order. This view has shaped much of the field, but it misses another route to quantum disorder. In many frustrated magnets, the more natural starting point is not a fluctuating version of an ordered state, but a locally constrained manifold of low-energy configurations. Within such a manifold, quantum dynamics can generate an emergent gauge theory, with fractionalized excitations and collective modes absent in ordinary magnets. Here we ask why such phases can be stable in three spatial dimensions. We argue that three-dimensional quantum spin liquids need not be regarded as fragile exceptions to the tendency of 3D magnets to order. They can arise when local constraints suppress premature order selection, coherent tunneling processes connect the constrained manifold, and the topology of gauge defects permits a deconfined regime. For compact gauge theories, three dimensions can even reverse the usual dimensional intuition: regimes that are unstable or fine-tuned in lower dimensions may become stable over finite regions of parameter space. We organize the discussion around constraint-driven Coulomb phases, weak harmonic order-by-disorder selection, and the role of spin-orbit or multipolar interactions in generating the required microscopic dynamics. We close with experimental diagnostics, candidate materials, and open theoretical questions for three-dimensional quantum spin liquids

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arXiv2026

An extended non-magnetic phase in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet from the ruby to the maple-leaf lattice

The spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the two-dimensional ruby and maple-leaf lattices provides a stringent test case for frustrated quantum magnetism, where semiclassical magnetic order competes closely with quantum-paramagnetic states. We study the generalized maple-leaf model along the axis interpolating between the isotropic ruby lattice and the isotropic maple-leaf lattice, using two independent variational infinite projected entangled-pair state ansätze: one defined on the mapped square lattice and one directly on the native triangular lattice. Our lowest-energy variational states show no magnetic order throughout the region connecting the two isotropic limits, and the local bond correlations recover the $120^\circ$ lattice rotation symmetry without imposing it explicitly. Magnetic-field simulations at the two endpoints further indicate a finite zero-magnetization plateau in both cases, with a gradual onset of magnetization on the ruby lattice and a sharper onset on the maple-leaf lattice. These results establish a broad gapped non-magnetic regime in a minimal nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model on lattices of direct relevance to both frustrated quantum magnets and programmable ruby-lattice simulators.

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arXiv2026

Crystallography-driven molecularization of a two-dimensional spin-$3/2$ magnet

Large-spin two-dimensional magnets are generally expected to develop conventional long-range order once the dominant exchange scale becomes appreciable. The layered spin-$3/2$ maple-leaf compound Na$_2$Mn$_3$O$_7$ defies this expectation: despite sizable antiferromagnetic interactions and no evident disorder, it exhibits no magnetic ordering and displays two well-separated thermodynamic crossover scales. We show that this behavior originates from a crystallography-driven molecularization of the magnetic degrees of freedom. The low-symmetry structure partitions the Mn sublattice into inequivalent exchange pathways, generating a pronounced hierarchy that nearly isolates antiferromagnetic hexagons. Magnetic correlations therefore develop in two stages: first within individual hexagons at a scale set by the dominant exchange, and only at much lower temperatures do frustrated inter-hexagon couplings attempt to establish coherence across the lattice. While isolated hexagons reproduce the two-step thermodynamic structure, the experimentally relevant temperature scales emerge only once the hexagons are embedded in the frustrated two-dimensional network. The resulting quantum ground state is magnetically disordered, characterized by strong intra-hexagon correlations and rapidly decaying inter-hexagon correlations. These results identify crystallographic inequivalence as a materials-level mechanism for stabilizing molecularized and quantum-disordered states even in large-spin two-dimensional magnets.

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arXiv2026

Incommensurate Spin-Density Waves in a Frustrated Maple-Leaf Lattice Ferromagnet

We study how ferromagnetism breaks down in the spin-$\tfrac12$ nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model on the maple-leaf lattice with ferromagnetic $J_t,J_d$ and antiferromagnetic $J_h$, motivated by the mixed ferro-antiferromagnetic interactions in Na$_2$Mn$_3$O$_7$. Exact diagonalization shows that the ferromagnetic boundary does not feature a zero-field spin-nematic phase on the clusters studied here, but an extended regime of incommensurate spin-density-wave correlations with continuously evolving ordering vector. The phase diagram also contains collinear Néel, canted $120^\circ$, and hexagonal-singlet regimes, separated by regions that remain difficult to classify from exact diagonalization alone. Variational tests of fully symmetric Gutzwiller-projected Abrikosov-fermion U(1) and $\mathbb{Z}_2$ states find no competitive spin-liquid description of the interior unresolved regions. By contrast, on the ruby-lattice boundary we identify a point between the collinear Néel and hexagonal-singlet phases where a projected $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Ansatz reproduces the finite-size energy and spin correlations with good accuracy.

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arXiv2026

Quantum phase diagram of the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square-kagome lattice: a tensor network study

We study the ground-state phase diagram of the spin-$1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the square-kagome lattice using infinite projected entangled-pair states (iPEPS). By systematically varying the ratio of exchange couplings on triangular and square plaquettes, we establish a complete quantum phase diagram in the thermodynamic limit. In the intermediate-coupling regime, we identify four distinct nonmagnetic phases that are unambiguously characterized as valence-bond crystals (VBCs) by their symmetry-inequivalent patterns of strong and weak spin-spin correlations. These include a plaquette crossed-dimer VBC, a loop-six VBC stabilized around the isotropic point, a generalized pinwheel VBC with reduced rotational symmetry, and a decorated loop-six VBC proximate to ferrimagnetic order. We determine the phase boundaries using a combination of bond-resolved correlation functions, entanglement entropy, and magnetization. For transitions not accompanied by sharp entanglement signatures, we extract the spin gap from finite-field simulations, allowing us to distinguish gapped and gapless VBC phases. At larger coupling ratios, the system undergoes transitions into imperfect and perfect ferrimagnetic states. Our results resolve long-standing ambiguities in the square-kagome Heisenberg model and provide a quantitatively reliable reference for future theoretical and experimental studies of frustrated quantum magnets.

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arXiv2026

Unified gauge-theory description of quantum spin liquids on square-based frustrated lattices

Quantum spin liquids are commonly thought to be highly sensitive to lattice geometry, symmetry, and microscopic exchange patterns, leading to a proliferation of seemingly distinct phases across frustrated magnets. Here, we provide a framework that unifies phases that appear distinct from the viewpoint of this intuition. We postulate that the spin-$\tfrac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg antiferromagnets on the square, Shastry-Sutherland, and checkerboard lattices can realize a single unified quantum phase: a gapless $\mathbb{Z}_2$ Dirac quantum spin liquid, despite their markedly different lattice symmetries. Using a systematic projective symmetry group analysis, we identify a checkerboard spin-liquid state that completes a closed set of adiabatically connected phases linking the well-established square-lattice and Shastry-Sutherland spin liquids. Crucially, we show that this lattice-level unification is mirrored exactly in the continuum description. In all three cases, the spin liquids descend from a common SU(2) $π$-flux parent state and are governed by the same gauge theory, QED$_3$ with two Dirac fermion flavors coupled to two adjoint Higgs fields. As a result, we postulate that the surrounding Néel and valence-bond-solid phases and their confinement transitions admit a unified interpretation within the framework of deconfined quantum criticality. More broadly, our results suggest that quantum spin liquids are most fundamentally classified not by lattice geometry or microscopic couplings, but by the emergent gauge theory and its Higgs structure. Distinct frustrated lattices can thus host the same quantum phase and exhibit the same confinement mechanisms, despite substantial differences in their microscopic symmetries.

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