Specific Heat and Structure Factor of a Many-Boson System.

R. Ramakumar, A. N. Das

Rohit Deb, Sambuddha Sanyal

We construct and classify $Z_2$ quantum spin liquids (QSLs) of fermionic partons on the dipolar-octupolar (DO) pyrochlore lattice. The DO pseudospin shares the space-group and time-reversal algebra of the effective spin-1/2 Kramers doublet, its projective symmetry group (PSG) yields the same 48 symmetric $Z_2$ classes as the generic fermionic classification. We show, the distinct DO symmetry action, encoded in a set of sublattice-independent operators, selects a physically different set of symmetry-allowed mean-field channels, so that the resulting ansatze, spinon spectra, and observables differ from both the effective spin-1/2 case and the bosonic DO classification. Decomposing the anisotropic XYZ exchange model into all symmetric singlet and triplet hopping and pairing channels and minimizing the mean-field energy self-consistently, we obtain phase diagrams in the ($\tilde{J_x}, \tilde{J_z}$) plane in which only a few $Z_2$ states, several supporting gapless or flat-band spinon spectra, are stabilized. For these states we compute the spinon band structures, the low-temperature specific heat, and the dynamical spin structure factor, and we argue that the power-law specific-heat exponent is a diagnostic of the spinon nodal structure. A near-linear-in-temperature specific heat together with broad continua in the structure factor gives a fermionic-parton account of the gapless, fractionalized thermodynamics reported in DO materials such as $Nd_2ScNbO_7$, complementing the bosonic quantum-spin-ice picture of the Ce-based compounds. The work extends the fermionic-parton classification of DO pyrochlore QSLs beyond the $U(1)$ sector, where $Z_2$ topological order is realized equally naturally by fermionic and bosonic spinons.

J. Horne, Jorge A. Salas, Kálmán Varga

Miller, Allen

In the formulation of the theory of the interacting many-boson system, the sign of the Fourier Transform of the two-particle interaction in the limit of long-wavelengths plays a dominant role in determining the character of the theory. With this in mind, we have obtained the following result: If the interaction between two neutral atoms is considered in the adiabatic approximation, and if the electronic wave functions correspond to the lowest energy state, then the sign of the scattering length will be negative. For the case of negative scattering lengths, an expansion is given for the ground-state energy of a system of interacting Bose particles. The expansion is performed in a way that eliminates the third-order divergence which results when the entire interaction is used as the perturbation. The structure factor, computed to first order, is in qualitative agreement with experiment, for large momentum values. For non-zero temperatures, expressions are obtained for the depletion of the zero-momentum mode and the specific heat. The results for the specific heat exhibit a discontinuity at the critical temperature. Quantitative estimates for the magnitude of the specific heat at the critical point yield results which are in fair agreement with empirical values for liquid helium. (Author)

Richard David Etters

Toshio Tsuzuki

The thermodynamics of a spin-boson system is studied by applying a decoupling approximation to the exact partition function which has been presented by the author. The effective tunneling gap, the internal energy and the specific heat are computed. It is shown that (1) the non-adiabatic effect of bosons on the spin is almost exhausted in the ground state, (2) the effective tunneling gap Δeff depends on temperature very weakly, and (3) the characteristic temperature of thermodynamic quantities is decreased by factor Δeff/Δ where Δ is the bare tunneling gap.