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arXiv:2509.10610 · Physical Review Letters

Finite-Size Spectral Signatures of Order by Quantum Disorder: A Perspective from Anderson’s Tower of States

Subhankar Khatua, Griffin C. Howson, Michel J. P. Gingras, Jeffrey G. Rau

Published Feb 12, 2026• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In frustrated magnetic systems with a subextensive number of classical ground states, quantum zero-point fluctuations can select a unique long-range ordered state, a celebrated phenomenon referred to as order by quantum disorder (ObQD). For frustrated spin-1/2 models, unbiased numerical methods able to expose ObQD are necessary. We show that ObQD can be identified from exact diagonalization calculations through an analysis akin to the Anderson tower of states associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking. By defining an effective quantum rotor model, we describe the competition between ObQD-induced localization of the rotor and its tunneling between symmetry-related ground states, identifying the crossover length scale from the finite-size regime where the rotor is delocalized to the infinite system-size limit where it becomes localized. This rotor model relates the characteristic splittings in the exact diagonalization energy spectrum to the ObQD selection energy scale, providing an estimate that can be compared to spin wave calculations. We demonstrate the general applicability of this approach in one-, two-, and three-dimensional frustrated spin models that exhibit ObQD.

DOI
10.1103/rdyh-2fqj

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In frustrated magnetic systems with a subextensive number of classical ground states, quantum zero-point fluctuations can select a unique long-range ordered state, a celebrated phenomenon referred to as order by quantum disorder (ObQD). For frustrated spin-1/2 models, unbiased numerical methods able to expose ObQD are necessary. We show that ObQD can be identified from exact diagonalization calculations through an analysis akin to the Anderson tower of states associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking. By defining an effective quantum rotor model, we describe the competition between ObQD-induced localization of the rotor and its tunneling between symmetry-related ground states, identifying the crossover length scale from the finite-size regime where the rotor is delocalized to the infinite system-size limit where it becomes localized. This rotor model relates the characteristic splittings in the exact diagonalization energy spectrum to the ObQD selection energy scale, providing an estimate that can be compared to spin wave calculations. We demonstrate the general applicability of this approach in one-, two-, and three-dimensional frustrated spin models that exhibit ObQD.
Elementary excitations of ordered quantum magnets are harmonic spin waves. Yet, when ordering breaks a continuous symmetry, excitations at zero momentum cannot really be treated as harmonic, because they correspond to the Goldstone mode that restores the symmetry in finite-size systems. Here, the authors show that zero-momentum excitations can be treated in a fully nonlinear way in terms of a macroscopic spin variable (the rotor): its spectrum reconstructs the so-called Anderson tower of states, a hallmark of continuous-symmetry breaking systems. The rotor variable can be considered as nearly separate from finite-momentum spin waves, leading to a quantitative reconstruction of the low-energy excitation spectrum of finite-size systems.
Disordered quantum antiferromagnets in two-dimensional compounds have been a focus of interest in the last years due to their exotic properties. However, with very few exceptions, the ground states of the corresponding Hamiltonians are notoriously difficult to simulate making their characterization and detection very elusive, both theoretically and experimentally. Here we propose a method to signal quantum disordered antiferromagnets by doing exact diagonalization in small lattices using random boundary conditions and averaging the observables of interest over the different disorder realizations. We apply our method to study the Heisenberg spin-1/2 model in an anisotropic triangular lattice. In this model, the competition between frustration and quantum fluctuations might lead to some spin-liquid phases as predicted from different methods ranging from spin-wave mean-field theory to 2D-DMRG or PEPS. Our method accurately reproduces the ordered phases expected of the model and signals quantum disordered phases by the presence of a large number of quasidegenerate ground states together with an undefined local order parameter. The method presents a weak dependence on finite-size effects.
Magnets with frustration often show accidental degeneracies, characterised by a large classical ground state space (CGSS). Quantum fluctuations may select a particular element of this space via the well known `order by disorder' (ObD) paradigm. Recent studies by the current authors propose a distinct selection mechanism -- `order by singularity' (ObS) -- that can occur when the CGSS self-intersects. This effect has been demonstrated in clusters containing a few spins. In this article, we draw a qualitative distinction between these two selection paradigms. We argue that the magnet, at low energies, maps to a particle moving on the CGSS. State selection corresponds to localization of the particle at a certain point on this space. In ObD, the particle localizes at a minimum of a fluctuation-generated potential. In contrast, in ObS, the particle localizes at a self-intersection point due to bound state formation -- a consequence of quantum interference. We place our discussion within the context of the one-dimensional spin-SSS Kitaev model. We map out its CGSS which grows systematically with increasing system size. It resembles a network where the number of nodes increases exponentially. In addition, the number of wires that cross at each node also grows exponentially. This self-intersecting structure leads to ObS, with the low-energy physics determined by a small subset of the CGSS, consisting of `cartesian' states. A contrasting picture emerges upon introducing an additional XY antiferromagnetic coupling. The CGSS simplifies dramatically, taking the form of a circle. Spin wave fluctuations generate a potential on this space. We discuss the conditions under which this potential gives rise to state selection by ObD. Apart from contrasting ObS and ObD, we discuss the possibility of ObS in macroscopic magnets.
In spin lattices, frustration happens when there exists a competition between different terms of the Hamiltonian, which cannot be simultaneously minimized in all local physical bases. Frustration can destabilize the bipartite Neel order, which is the conventional groundstate of antiferromagnetic Heisenberg-type models in two dimensions. Hence, the focus of two-dimensional quantum magnetism studies has been directed toward elucidating the zero-temperature properties of Heisenberg-type models on the Archimedean lattices that exhibit geometrical frustration. This type of frustration is of great interest since it can lead to exotic forms of the quantum matter, such as topological spin-liquid (SL) and many-sublattice long-range-ordered phases. The spin-1/2 triangular Heisenberg model (THM) is a prototypical model with geometrical frustration, which has the highest coordination number of all Archimedean lattices. However, there exist two major, distinct difficulties for numerical methods to efficiently determine the groundstate properties of the THM: the immense dimension of the Hilbert space and the geometrical frustration phenomenon. In this thesis, to deal with such difficulties, we employ the state-of-the- art non-Abelian matrix product states (MPS) and density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) methods. We exploit the symmetries of the Hamiltonian to reduce the working dimension of the Hilbert space and, to lessen the effects of the geometrical frustration, we depend on the local entanglement (area-law) nature of the MPS as it scales with the size of a lattice subspace with reduced spatial dimensions. In such a way, we thoroughly examine the phase diagram of the THM with nearest and next-nearest neighbor (NN and NNN) exchange couplings on finite- and infinite-length cylinders of widths up to 12 sites. In addition, we develop new numerical tools to analyze topological and symmetry-broken phases in the context of the SU(2)-symmetric translation-invariant MPS algorithm. We establish that on infinite cylinders, the anyonic sectors of a topological order can be classified through the fractionalization of global symmetries and degeneracy patterns of the entanglement spectrum (ES). On the other hand, we detect symmetry-breaking phase transitions by a combination of the correlation lengths and second and fourth cumulants of the magnetic order parameters, even though symmetry implies that the order parameter itself is strictly zero. Furthermore, the appearance of Nambu-Goldstone modes in the excitation spectrum can be detected using “tower of states” (TOS) levels in the momentum-resolved ES. By applying the new tools to the THM, we discover a variety of exotic groundstates such as a Z2-gauge toric-code-type topological order (with vison and spinon excitations), a NNN Majumdar-Gosh, and a long-range 120◦-ordered state.
Magnets with frustration often show accidental degeneracies, characterized by a large classical ground-state space (CGSS). Quantum fluctuations may ``select'' one of these ground states---a phenomenon labeled ``order by (quantum) disorder'' in literature. In this article, we examine the mechanism(s) by which such state selection takes place. We argue that a magnet, at low energies, maps to a particle moving on the CGSS. State selection corresponds to localization of the particle at a certain point on this space. We distinguish two mechanisms that can bring about localization. In the first, quantum fluctuations generate a potential on the CGSS space. If the potential has a deep enough minimum, then the particle localizes in its vicinity. We denote this as ``order by potential'' (ObP). In the second scenario, the particle localizes at a self-intersection point due to bound-state formation---a consequence of geometry and quantum interference. Following recent studies by the present authors, we denote this scenario as ``order by singularity'' (ObS). In either case, localization leads to an energy gap between the ground state(s) and higher-energy states. This pseudo-Goldstone gap behaves differently in the two mechanisms, scaling differently with the spin length. We place our discussion within the context of the one-dimensional spin-SSS Kitaev model. We map out its CGSS which grows systematically with increasing system size. It resembles a network where the number of nodes increases exponentially. In addition, the number of wires that cross at each node also grows exponentially. This self-intersecting structure leads to ObS, with the low-energy physics determined by a small subset of the CGSS, consisting of ``Cartesian'' states. A contrasting picture emerges when an additional XY antiferromagnetic coupling is introduced. The CGSS simplifies dramatically, taking the form of a circle. Spin wave fluctuations generate a potential on this space, giving rise to state selection by ObP under certain conditions. Apart from contrasting ObS and ObP, we discuss the possibility of ObS in macroscopic magnets.