Exploring Fractionalization in Quantum Spin Ice
Félix Desrochers
Abstract
The presence of multiple competing interactions in spin systems can lead to novel phases known as quantum spin liquids (QSLs). QSLs are disordered spin systems with long-range entanglement that realize the deconfined phase of emergent lattice gauge theories and host fractional excitations. A notable example of great experimental interest is quantum spin ice (QSI), a three-dimensional QSL that realizes an analog of quantum electrodynamics with emergent photons and interacting electric and magnetic charges. The current leading candidate materials for realizing QSI are dipolar-octupolar (DO) cerium-based pyrochlore compounds. These are believed to stabilize a $U(1)$ QSL known as $\pi$-flux QSI, where translation symmetry acting on spinon excitations fractionalizes. In this thesis, we explore the physics of QSI, relying heavily on parton constructions, to make experimentally relevant predictions for DO materials. First, we explore the physics of symmetry fractionalization in QSI, whereby lattice symmetries are realized projectively when acting on fractional quasiparticles. Symmetry fractionalization is examined within the framework of gauge mean-field theory (GMFT), a parton construction designed explicitly for application to QSI. This study shows that the pyrochlore lattice space group strongly constrains possible symmetry fractionalization classes. It systematically explains how all space group transformations, beyond translation, fractionalize in $\pi$-flux QSI. Next, we apply this framework to DO materials and show how the equal-time structure factor predicted for $\pi$-flux QSI is consistent with recent energy-integrated inelastic neutron scattering experiments on certain candidate materials. We also predict that the dynamical spin structure factor of $\pi$-flux QSI is characterized by a broad continuum with three distinctive peaks of decreasing intensity that are approximately equally spaced. We argue that these peaks should be accessible with currently available experimental apparatus and offer a smoking-gun signature of $\pi$-flux QSI. We confirm those predictions by extending the exclusive boson representation and speculate on the thermodynamic behavior of cerium candidates. We close by commenting on recent experimental breakthroughs and possible future directions.