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arXiv:2602.12998 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Variational study of the magnetization plateaus in the spin- 1 2 kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet: An approach from vision transformer neural quantum states

Andreas Raikos, Sylvain Capponi, Fabien Alet

Published Jun 17, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We analyze the magnetization curve of the spin-1/2 kagome Heisenberg model in a magnetic field. Using state-of-the-art variational wave functions based on neural networks, we confirm the presence of robust magnetization plateaus at $m=1/3$, $5/9$ and $7/9$ of the saturation value, stabilized by a spontaneous symmetry breaking of lattice translations with a $\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$ unit cell. Regarding the more challenging $m=1/9$ plateau, we find two competing valence bond crystals depending on the system size, both breaking translation as well as point group symmetries and with a larger $3\times 3$ unit cell. Such quantum states with local modulations of the magnetization average values could be observed experimentally in the near future.

DOI
10.1103/xyzw-jtn1

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We analyze the magnetization curve of the spin-1/2 kagome Heisenberg model in a magnetic field. Using state-of-the-art variational wave functions based on neural networks, we confirm the presence of robust magnetization plateaus at m=1/3m=1/3m=1/3, 5/95/95/9 and 7/97/97/9 of the saturation value, stabilized by a spontaneous symmetry breaking of lattice translations with a 3×3\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}3​×3​ unit cell. Regarding the more challenging m=1/9m=1/9m=1/9 plateau, we find two competing valence bond crystals depending on the system size, both breaking translation as well as point group symmetries and with a larger 3×33\times 33×3 unit cell. Such quantum states with local modulations of the magnetization average values could be observed experimentally in the near future.
The spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ Heisenberg model on a kagome lattice is a typical frustrated quantum spin system. The basic structure of a kagome lattice is also present in the kagome-strip lattice in one dimension, where a similar type of frustration is expected. We thus study the magnetization plateaus of the spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ Heisenberg model on a kagome-strip chain with three-independent antiferromagnetic exchange interactions using the density-matrix renormalization-group method. In a certain range of exchange parameters, we find twelve kinds of magnetization plateaus, nine of which have magnetic structures breaking translational and/or reflection symmetry spontaneously. The structures are classified by an array of five-site unit cells with specific bond-spin correlations. In a case with a nontrivial plateau, namely a 3/10 plateau, we find long-period magnetic structure with a period of four unit cells.
The nature of the 1/9-magnetization plateau of the spin-12\frac{1}{2}21​ kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet remains controversial due to the exotic physical properties and high complexity induced by the geometrical frustration. Instead of a Z3{\mathbb{Z}}_{3}Z3​ quantum spin liquid revealed on a cylinder, we show on an infinite-size lattice that the 1/9 plateau can be described by a valence bond crystal (VBC) that breaks spatial translational invariance. Consistent results are achieved by two accurate tensor network methods, namely the full-update infinite projected-entangled pair states and the projected-entangled simplex states. The VBC exhibits an hourglass pattern with $\sqrt{3}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{3}$ spatial symmetry, demonstrated by magnetizations, bond energies, and three-body correlators. The spatial inversion symmetry in the $\sqrt{3}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{3}$ VBC is instantly broken with the presence of the difference between the coupling strengths in the up and down triangles, suggesting the existence of gapless excitations. The gapless nature of the 1/9 plateau is further indicated by the scaling behaviors of the entanglement entropy and the correlation length, which indicate a c=1c=1c=1 conformal field theory.
Theory of the 1/91/91/9 Magnetization Plateau of the Spin-1/21/21/2 Kagome Heisenberg Antiferromagnet
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In this paper, we do a complete classification of valence-bond crystals (VBCs) on the kagomé lattice based on general arguments of symmetry only and thus identify many new VBCs for different unit cell sizes. For the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet, we study the relative energetics of competing gapless spin liquids (SLs) and VBC phases within the class of Gutzwiller-projected fermionic wave functions using variational Monte Carlo techniques, hence implementing exactly the constraint of one fermion per site. By using a state-of-the-art optimization method, we conclusively show that the U(1) Dirac SL is remarkably stable towards dimerizing into all 6-, 12- and 36-site unit cell VBCs. This stability is also preserved on addition of a next-nearest-neighbor super-exchange coupling of both antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic (FM) type. However, we find that a 36-site unit cell VBC is stabilized on addition of a very small next-nearest-neighbor FM super-exchange coupling, i.e. | J 2 | ≈ 0.045, and this VBC is the same in terms of space-group symmetry as that obtained in an effective quantum dimer model study. It breaks reflection symmetry, has a nontrivial flux pattern and is a strong dimerization of the uniform RVB SL.
We investigate the spin-1 kagome-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet using large-scale Lanczos diagonalization and the finite-temperature Lanczos method. The zero-temperature magnetization process exhibits plateaus at m = 0 , 1 / 3 , 7 / 9 , and 8 / 9 , where m is the normalized magnetization. The m = 0 plateau is identified as a trimer valence-bond-crystal state, while the high-field plateaus at m = 7 / 9 and 8 / 9 are identified as magnon crystals. In particular, the m = 8 / 9 plateau corresponds to the exact localized-magnon crystal state. A smoothed zero-temperature magnetization curve constructed using the Gaussian-kernel smoothing method indicates magnetization jumps at the lower-field edge of the m = 1 / 3 plateau and at the upper-field edges of the m = 7 / 9 and 8 / 9 plateaus. At finite temperatures, the specific heat exhibits a double-peak structure with peaks around T / J ≃ 0.1 and T / J ≃ 1.1 , and the low-temperature peak may be related to trimer valence-bond-crystal ordering. The finite-temperature magnetization curves show that the m = 1 / 3 plateau remains visible at low temperatures, whereas the high-field plateaus are rapidly smeared out by thermal effects. These results provide benchmark data for thermodynamic and high-field magnetization measurements in candidate spin-1 kagome-lattice materials.