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Liberation of quarks and spinons on domain walls: analogies between gauge theories and quantum magnets

Tin Sulejmanpašić, Hui Shao, Anders W. Sandvik, Mithat Ünsal

Published Aug 31, 2016• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

In a spontaneously dimerized quantum antiferromagnet (a valence-bond-solid, VBS) in two or three dimensions, elementary spin-1/2 excitations (spinons) are confined by strings akin to the strings confining quarks in non-abelian gauge theories. The VBS has multiple degenerate ground states (vacua) and domain walls between regions of inequivalent vacua. Here we demonstrate that, if the number of vacua is two, the spinons become liberated (deconfined) on the domain wall. This is in close analogy to supersymmetric gauge theories, where quarks deconfine on domain walls separating two vacua, as first conjecture by Rey and Witten. We show that the confinement mechanism in the VBS and Super-Yang-Mills theory are identical in certain regimes. This remarkable close analogy opens doors to improving our understanding of confinement by computational and experimental studies in quantum magnetism. As an illustration, we present a numerical demonstration of spinon deconfinement on domain walls in a two-dimensional quantum magnet.

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In a spontaneously dimerized quantum antiferromagnet (a valence-bond-solid, VBS) in two or three dimensions, elementary spin-1/2 excitations (spinons) are confined by strings akin to the strings confining quarks in non-abelian gauge theories. The VBS has multiple degenerate ground states (vacua) and domain walls between regions of inequivalent vacua. Here we demonstrate that, if the number of vacua is two, the spinons become liberated (deconfined) on the domain wall. This is in close analogy to supersymmetric gauge theories, where quarks deconfine on domain walls separating two vacua, as first conjecture by Rey and Witten. We show that the confinement mechanism in the VBS and Super-Yang-Mills theory are identical in certain regimes. This remarkable close analogy opens doors to improving our understanding of confinement by computational and experimental studies in quantum magnetism. As an illustration, we present a numerical demonstration of spinon deconfinement on domain walls in a two-dimensional quantum magnet.
In a spontaneously dimerized quantum antiferromagnet, spin-1/2 excitations (spinons) are confined in pairs by strings akin to those confining quarks in non-Abelian gauge theories. The system has multiple degenerate ground states (vacua) and domain walls between regions of different vacua. For two vacua, we demonstrate that spinons on a domain wall are liberated, in a mechanism strikingly similar to domain-wall deconfinement of quarks in variants of quantum chromodynamics. This observation not only establishes a novel phenomenon in quantum magnetism, but also provides a new direct link between particle physics and condensed-matter physics. The analogy opens doors to improving our understanding of particle confinement and deconfinement by computational and experimental studies in quantum magnetism.
We consider the Abelian-Higgs model in 2+12+12+1 dimensions with instanton-monopole defects. This model is closely related to the phases of quantum antiferromagnets. In the presence of Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ preserving monopole operators, there are two confining ground states in the monopole phase, corresponding to the valence bond solid (VBS) phase of quantum magnets. We show that the domain wall carries a 't Hooft anomaly in this case. The anomaly can be saturated by, e.g., charge-conjugation breaking on the wall or by the domain wall theory becoming gapless (a gapless model that saturates the anomaly is SU(2)1SU{(2)}_{1}SU(2)1​ WZW). Either way the fundamental scalar particles (i.e., spinons) which are confined in the bulk are deconfined on the domain wall. This Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ phase can be realized either with spin-1/2 on a rectangular lattice or spin-1 on a square lattice. In both cases the domain wall contains spin-1/2 particles (which are absent in the bulk). We discuss the possible relation to recent lattice simulations of domain walls in VBS. We further generalize the discussion to Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olsen (ANO) vortices in a dual superconductor of the Abelian-Higgs model in 3+13+13+1 dimensions and to the easy-plane limit of antiferromagnets. In the latter case the wall can undergo a variant of the BKT transition (consistent with the anomalies) while the bulk is still gapped. The same is true for the easy-axis limit of antiferromagnets. We also touch upon some analogies to Yang-Mills theory.
Quantum magnets provide a microscopic platform for studying confinement and gauge-constrained structures mediated by emergent gauge fields. We investigate confined spinon complexes in the columnar valence-bond-solid (VBS) phase near deconfined quantum criticality using pinned-spin defects and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The pinned spins act as static spinon sources with controlled positions, spin projections, and VBS vorticities, enabling measurement of defect energies and direct real-space visualization of the associated VBS domain-wall strings. For matched spinon-antispinon sources, the excitation energy saturates beyond a characteristic separation as one extended dipole reorganizes into two shorter neutral dipoles, providing energetic and real-space evidence of string breaking. We further show that domain-wall connectivity is governed by lattice-scale VBS phase offsets in addition to vorticity and spin-projection neutrality. Compatible multi-pin patterns generate connected four-spinon complexes and extended domain-wall networks that retain their global connectivity under local distortions. These results establish pinned-spin defects as a controlled tool for assembling and resolving multi-spinon structures and their confining strings in a VBS phase.
The interplay between lattice gauge theories and fermionic matter accounts for fundamental physical phenomena ranging from the deconfinement of quarks in particle physics to quantum spin liquid with fractionalized anyons and emergent gauge structures in condensed matter physics.However, except for certain limits (for instance, a large number of flavors of matter fields), analytical methods can provide few concrete results.Here we show that the problem of compact Uð1Þ lattice gauge theory coupled to fermionic matter in ð2 þ 1ÞD is possible to access via sign-problem-free quantum Monte Carlo simulations.One can hence map out the phase diagram as a function of fermion flavors and the strength of gauge fluctuations.By increasing the coupling constant of the gauge field, gauge confinement in the form of various spontaneous-symmetrybreaking phases such as the valence-bond solid (VBS) and Néel antiferromagnet emerge.Deconfined phases with algebraic spin and VBS correlation functions are also observed.Such deconfined phases are incarnations of exotic states of matter, i.e., the algebraic spin liquid, which is generally viewed as the parent state of various quantum phases.The phase transitions between the deconfined and confined phases, as well as that between the different confined phases provide various manifestations of deconfined quantum criticality.In particular, for four flavors N f ¼ 4, our data suggest a continuous quantum phase transition between the VBS and Néel order.We also provide preliminary theoretical analysis for these quantum phase transitions.
We use Monte Carlo methods to study spinons in two-dimensional quantum spin systems, characterizing their intrinsic size $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and confinement length $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$. We confirm that spinons are deconfined, $\ensuremath{\Lambda}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$ and $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ finite, in a resonating valence-bond spin-liquid state. In a valence-bond solid, we find finite $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$, with $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ of a single spinon significantly larger than the bound state---the spinon is soft and shrinks as the bound state is formed. Both $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ diverge upon approaching the critical point separating valence-bond solid and N\'eel ground states. We conclude that the spinon deconfinement is marginal in the lowest-energy state in the spin-1 sector, due to weak attractive spinon interactions. Deconfinement in the vicinity of the critical point should occur at higher energies.
The transition between the N\'eel antiferromagnet and the valence-bond solid state in two dimensions has become a paradigmatic example of deconfined quantum criticality, a non-Landau transition characterized by fractionalized excitations (spinons). We consider an extension of this scenario whereby the deconfined spinons are subject to a magnetic field. The primary purpose is to identify the exotic scenario of a Bose-Einstein condensate of spinons. We employ quantum Monte Carlo simulations of the $J\ensuremath{-}Q$ model with a magnetic field, and we perform a quantum field theoretic analysis of the magnetic field and temperature dependence of thermodynamic quantities. The combined analysis provides evidence for Bose-Einstein condensation of spinons and also demonstrates an extended temperature regime in which the system is best described as a gas of spinons interacting with an emergent gauge field.