arXiv:1912.06215 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B
Topological Z2 resonating-valence-bond quantum spin liquid on the ruby lattice
Saeed S. Jahromi, Román Orús
Abstract
We construct a short-range resonating-valence-bond (RVB) state on the ruby lattice, using projected entangled-pair states with bond dimension $D=3$. By introducing nonlocal moves to the dimer patterns on the torus, we distinguish four distinct sectors in the space of dimer coverings, which is a signature of the topological nature of the RVB wave function. Furthermore, by calculating the reduced density matrix of a bipartition of the RVB state on an infinite cylinder and exploring its entanglement entropy, we confirm the topological nature of the RVB wave function by obtaining a nonzero topological contribution, $\ensuremath{\gamma}=\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{ln}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}2$, consistent with that of a ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ topological quantum spin liquid. We also calculate the ground-state energy of the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the ruby lattice and compare it with the RVB energy. Finally, we construct a quantum dimer model for the ruby lattice and discuss it as a possible parent Hamiltonian for the RVB wave function.