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arXiv · 0803.4204

Classical-Quantum Mappings for Geometrically Frustrated Systems: Spin Ice in a [100] Field

Stephen Powell·J. T. Chalker
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Abstract

Certain classical statistical systems with strong local constraints are known to exhibit Coulomb phases, where long-range correlation functions have power-law forms. Continuous transitions from these into ordered phases cannot be described by a naive application of the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson theory, since neither phase is thermally disordered. We present an alternative approach to a critical theory for such systems, based on a mapping to a quantum problem in one fewer spatial dimensions. We apply this method to spin ice, a magnetic material with geometrical frustration, which exhibits a Coulomb phase and a continuous transition to an ordered state in the presence of a magnetic field applied in the [100] direction.

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Stephen Powell, J. T. Chalker. 2008-05-22. Classical-Quantum Mappings for Geometrically Frustrated Systems: Spin Ice in a [100] Field. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.78.024422

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