We study the ground-state properties of the quantum spin liquid (QSL) phases of the spin-
1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the triangular lattice with nearest-
(J1), next-nearest-
(J2), and third-neighbor
(J3) interactions by using the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method. By combining parallel DMRG with
SU(2) spin rotational symmetry, we are able to obtain accurate results on large cylinders with length up to
Lx=48 and circumference
Ly=6−−12. Our results suggest that the QSL phase of the ${J}_{1}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{J}_{2}$ Heisenberg model is gapped, which is characterized by the absence of a gapless mode and by short-range spin-spin and dimer-dimer correlations. In the presence of
J3 interaction, we find that a critical QSL with a single gapless mode emerges. While both spin-spin and scalar chiral-chiral correlations are short ranged, dimer-dimer correlations are quasi long ranged and decay as a power law at long distances.
A complicating factor in the realization and observation of quantum spin liquids in materials is the ubiquitous presence of other degrees of freedom, in particular lattice distortion modes (phonons). These provide additional routes for relieving magnetic frustration, thereby possibly destabilizing spin-liquid ground states. In this work, we focus on triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnets, where recent numerical evidence suggests the presence of an extended U(1) Dirac spin liquid phase which is described by compact quantum electrodynamics in 2+1 dimensions (QED
3), featuring gapless spinons and monopoles as gauge excitations, and believed to flow to a strongly-coupled fixed point with conformal symmetry. Using complementary perturbation theory and scaling arguments, we show that a symmetry-allowed coupling between (classical) finite-wavevector lattice distortions and monopole operators of the U(1) Dirac spin liquid generally induces a spin-Peierls instability towards a (confining) 12-site valence-bond solid state. We support our theoretical analysis with state-of-the-art density matrix renormalization group simulations. Away from the limit of static distortions, we demonstrate that the phonon energy gap establishes a parameter regime where the spin liquid is expected to be stable, and show that the monopole-lattice coupling leads to softening of the phonon in analogy to the Kohn anomaly. We discuss the applicability of our results to similar systems, in particular the Dirac spin liquid on the Kagome lattice.
Previous studies of the S=1/2 triangular-lattice J_{1}-J_{2} Heisenberg antiferromagnet have inferred the existence of a nonmagnetic ground-state phase for an intermediate range of J_{2}, but disagree concerning whether it is a gapped Z_{2} quantum spin liquid (QSL), a gapless (Dirac) QSL, or a weakly symmetry-broken phase. Using an improved dynamical density-matrix renormalization group method, we investigate the relevant intermediate J_{2} regime for cylinders with circumferences from 6 to 9. Depending on the initial state and boundary conditions, we find two distinct variational states. The higher energy state is consistent with a Dirac QSL. In the lower-energy state, both the static and dynamical properties are qualitatively similar to the magnetically ordered state at J_{2}=0, suggestive of either a weakly magnetically ordered non-QSL or a gapped QSL proximate to a continuous transition to such an ordered state.
We numerically study the Kitaev honeycomb model with the additional XX Ising interaction between the nearest and the next nearest neighbors (Kitaev–Ising-
J1 -
J2 model), by using the density matrix renormalization group method. Such additional interaction correspond to the nearest and diagonal interactions on the square lattice. Phase diagram of the bare Kitaev model consist of low entangled commensurate magnetic phases and entangled Kitaev spin liquid. Anisotropic Ising interaction allows the entangled quantum paramagnetic phases in the phase diagram, which in the absence of the magnetic field previously was predicted for more complex type of interaction. We study the scaling law of the entanglement entropy and the bond dimension of the matrix product state with the size of the system. In addition, we propose an optimization algorithm to prevent density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) from getting stuck in the low-entangled phases.
Quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are long-range entangled phases of frustrated magnets exhibiting fractionalised spin excitations. In two dimensions, there is limited analytical understanding of their excitation spectra beyond parton mean-field theories, which fail to capture many features of the finite frequency dynamical response. We use a self-consistent mean-field theory combined with the random phase approximation (RPA) for the
J1-
J2 Heisenberg model on the triangular lattice to describe the strong spinon-spinon interactions of the U(1) Dirac QSL. We obtain quantitative results for the dynamical spin structure factor and phase diagram compatible with comprehensive numerical efforts. We show the continuum response at the Brillouin zone corners is described by a spinon-exciton hybridised with monopole gauge excitations. We further show that the transition from the QSL to 120-degree coplanar order is in the QED
3 O(3)-GN universality class. We extend the method to chiral QSLs and XXZ anisotropy, and discuss its broad range of applicability to other models and for describing inelastic neutron scattering experiments in KYbSe
2.
We use the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm to study the phase diagram of the spin-
21 Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice with first (
J1) and second (
J2) neighbor antiferromagnetic interactions, where a
Z2 spin liquid region has been proposed. By implementing SU(2) symmetry in the DMRG code, we are able to obtain accurate results for long cylinders with a width slightly over 15 lattice spacings and a torus up to the size $N=2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}6$. With increasing
J2, we find a N\'eel phase with a vanishing spin gap and a plaquette valence-bond (PVB) phase with a nonzero spin gap. By extrapolating the square of the staggered magnetic moment
ms2 on finite-size cylinders to the thermodynamic limit, we find the N\'eel order vanishing at ${J}_{2}/{J}_{1}\ensuremath{\simeq}0.22$. For $0.25<{J}_{2}/{J}_{1}\ensuremath{\le}0.35$, we find a possible PVB order, which shows a fast growing PVB decay length with increasing system width. For
0.22<J2/J1<0.25, both spin and dimer orders vanish in the thermodynamic limit, which is consistent with a possible spin liquid phase. We present calculations of the topological entanglement entropy, compare the DMRG results with the variational Monte Carlo, and discuss possible scenarios in the thermodynamic limit for this region.