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arXiv:2608.26347

Dynamical signatures of deconfined spinons in dimerized sawtooth chains

Nishan Ranabhat, Brandon B. Le, Seung-Hun Lee, Gia-Wei Chern

Published Aug 26, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We study the ground-state properties and dynamical response of the Heisenberg model on the sawtooth chain in and away from the exactly solvable valence-bond-solid (VBS) point. We employ U(1)-symmetric density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) and time-dependent variational principle (TDVP) methods to compute equilibrium diagnostics and the zero-temperature dynamical structure factor (DSF) $S^{zz}(q,ω)$ across the dimerized phase, a valence-bond-ordered state in which the two symmetry-equivalent apex--base bonds of each triangle develop unequal spin correlations, probing the approach to the continuous lower phase boundary, the exact VBS point, and the approach to the first-order upper boundary. In every regime, the DSF is a broad continuum dominated by a bright band at its lower edge, with the intensity at the one-triplon energy $ω\simeq J_{AB}$ suppressed. We identify the spectrum as a deconfined two-spinon continuum of kink and antikink domain walls between the two degenerate singlet coverings. Closed-form spinon dispersions fix the continuum edges and track the dominant band across the zone in all three regimes, while an explicit finite-separation two-kink calculation in a constrained Hilbert space reproduces the measured intensity distribution. Our results provide a microscopic picture of fractionalized excitations in the dimerized sawtooth chain and are relevant to the recently discovered Ti$^{3+}$ kagome fluorides, where strongly anisotropic exchange interactions can generate sawtooth-chain building blocks.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2608.26347

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