2018/08/14 by Sambuddha Sanyal, Kusum Dhochak, Subhro Bhattacharjee · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Condensed matter physics #Electron #Parton #Phase (matter) #Phase diagram #Phase transition #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Pyrochlore #Quantum mechanics #Quantum phase transition #Quantum phases #Quantum spin liquid #Quark #Spin (aerodynamics) #Spin polarization #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.99.134425
published as Phys. Rev. B 99, 134425 (2019) · 20 pages, 17 figures
arxiv created 2018/08/14 · openalex created_date 2018/08/22 · openalex publication_date 2019/04/17 · arxiv updated 2019/04/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We study the uniform time-reversal-invariant U(1) quantum spin liquid (QSL) with low-energy fermionic quasiparticles for rare-earth pyrochlore magnets and explore its magnetic instability, employing an augmented fermionic parton mean field theory approach. Self-consistent calculations stabilize a uniform U(1) QSL with both gapped and gapless parton excitations as well as fractionalized magnetically ordered phases in an experimentally relevant part of the phase diagram near the classical phase boundaries of the magnetically ordered phases. The gapped QSL has a band structure with a nonzero Z2 topological invariant. The fractionalized magnetically ordered phases bear signatures of both QSL through fermionic excitations as well as magnetic order. Thus, this provides a possible way to understand the unconventional diffuse neutron scattering in rare-earth pyrochlores such as Yb2Ti2O7, Er2Sn2O7, and Er2Pt2O7 at low or zero external magnetic fields. We calculate the dynamic spin structure factor to understand the nature of the diffuse two-particle continuum.