Algebraic vortex liquid theory of a quantum antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice

Abstract

There is growing evidence from both experiment and numerical studies that low half-odd integer quantum spins on a kagome lattice with predominant antiferromagnetic near neighbor interactions do not order magnetically or break lattice symmetries even at temperatures much lower than the exchange interaction strength. Moreover, there appear to be a plethora of low energy excitations, predominantly singlets but also spin carrying, which suggest that the putative underlying quantum spin liquid is a gapless ``critical spin liquid'' rather than a gapped spin liquid with topological order. Here, we develop an effective field theory approach for the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model with easy-plane anisotropy on the kagome lattice. By employing a vortex duality transformation, followed by a fermionization and flux-smearing, we obtain access to a gapless yet stable critical spin liquid phase, which is described by (2+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (QED${}_3$) with an emergent $\mathrm{SU}(8)$ flavor symmetry. The specific heat, thermal conductivity, and dynamical structure factor are extracted from the effective field theory, and contrasted with other theoretical approaches to the kagome antiferromagnet.

14 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (8)

• Spin Dynamics of the Spin-1/2 Kagome Lattice Antiferromagnet ZnCu_3(OH)_6Cl_2
• Projected wavefunction study of Spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on the Kagome lattice
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• Excitation spectra of the spin-1/2 triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet
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Cited by in corpus (21)

• Properties of an algebraic spin liquid on the kagome lattice
• Quantum phase transition induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya in the kagome antiferromagnet
• Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya Anisotropy in the Spin-1/2 Kagomé Compound ZnCu${}_3$(OH)${}_6$Cl${}_2$
• Dynamic Scaling in the Susceptibility of the Spin-1\2 Kagome Lattice Antiferromagnet Herbertsmithite
• Distinct Spin Liquids and their Transitions in Spin-1/2 XXZ Kagome Antiferromagnets
• Phase diagram of the J1-J2 Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice
• Spatially Anisotropic Heisenberg Kagome Antiferromagnet
• Quantum and Classical Spins on the Spatially Distorted Kagome Lattice: Applications to Volborthite
• Monopole Quantum Numbers in the Staggered Flux Spin Liquid
• Putative spin liquid in the triangle-based iridate Ba${}_3$IrTi${}_2$O${}_9$
• Studies of non-magnetic impurities in the spin-1/2 Kagome Antiferromagnet
• Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in valence bond systems
• Specific Heat of the Kagome Antiferromagnet Herbertsmithite in High Magnetic Fields
• Ordered Phases of the Anisotropic Kagome Lattice Antiferromagnet in a Field
• Structure factor of low-energy spin excitations in a S=1/2 kagome antiferromagnet
• Theory of Néel and Valence-Bond-Solid Phases on the Kagome Lattice of Zn-paratacamite
• Influence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions on magnetic structure of a spin-1/2 deformed kagome lattice antiferromagnet
• Non-abelian descendant of abelian duality in a two-dimensional frustrated quantum magnet
• Fermionization for charge degrees of freedom and bosonization of spin degrees of freedom in the SU(2) slave-boson theory
• Nature of an intermediate non-Fermi liquid state in Ge-substituted YbRh${}_2$Si${}_2$: Fermionized skyrmions, Lifshitz transition, Skyrmion liquid, and Gruneisen ratio
• Fermionized dual vortex theory for magnetized kagomé spin liquid