arXiv:1411.0789 · Physical Review B
Absence of classical long-range order in an S=12 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice
Nobuo Suzuki, Fumitaka Matsubara, Sumiyoshi Fujiki, Takayuki Shirakura
Abstract
We study the quantum phase transition of an $S=\frac{1}{2}$ anisotropic $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ $(\ensuremath{\equiv}{J}_{z}/{J}_{xy})$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice. We calculate the sublattice magnetization and the long-range helical order parameter and their Binder ratios on finite systems with $N\ensuremath{\le}36$ sites. The $N$ dependence of the Binder ratios reveals that the classical ${120}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ N\'eel state occurs for $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.55$, whereas a critical collinear state occurs for $1/\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.6$. This result is at odds with a widely held belief that the ground state of a Heisenberg antiferromagnet is the ${120}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ N\'eel state, but it also provides a possible mechanism explaining experimentally observed spin liquids.