SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

C. Lhuillier

Publications and source records attributed to C. Lhuillier.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Spin susceptibility of quantum magnets from high to low temperatures

We present a method to compute the magnetic susceptibility of spin systems at all temperatures in one and two dimensions. It relies on an approximation of the entropy versus energy (microcanonical potential function) on the whole range of energies. The intrinsic constraints on the entropy function and a careful treatment of boundary behaviors allow to extend the standard high temperature series expansions (HTE) towards zero temperature, overcoming the divergence of truncated HTE. This method is benchmarked against two one-dimensional solvable models: the Ising model in longitudinal field and the XY model in a transverse field. With ten terms in the HTE, we find a spin susceptibility within a few \% of the exact results in the whole range of temperature. The method is then applied to two two-dimensional models: the supposed-to-be gapped Heisenberg model and the $J_1$-$J_2$-$J_d$ model on the kagome lattice.

cond-mat.str-el

Exchange energies of Kapellasite from high-temperature series analysis of the kagome lattice J1-J2-Jd-Heisenberg model

We present a method to build magnetic models for insulators based on high-temperature expansions by fitting both the magnetic susceptibility and the low temperature specific heat data. It is applied to the frustrated magnet kapellasite (Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2) with the J1-J2-Jd-Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice. Experimental data are reproduced with a set of "competing" exchange energies closed to J1 = -12K, J2= -4K and Jd=15.6K, where Jd is the third neighbor exchange energy across the hexagon. Strong constrains between these exchange energies are established. These values confirm the results of B. Fåk et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., 109, 037208 (2012)) regarding the location of kapellasite in the {\it cuboc2} phase of the Heisenberg model. The quality and limits of this modeling are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el

Kapellasite: a kagome quantum spin liquid

Magnetic susceptibility, NMR, muSR, and inelastic neutron scattering measurements show that kapellasite, Cu3Zn(OH)6Cl2, a geometrically frustrated spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet polymorphous with the herbertsmithite mineral, is a gapless spin liquid with frustrated interactions showing unusual dynamic short-range correlations of non-coplanar cuboc2 type which persist down to 20 mK. The Hamiltonian is determined from a fit of a high-temperature series expansion to thermodynamical data. The experimental data are compared to theoretical calculations using the Schwinger-boson approach.

cond-mat.str-el

A Schwinger-boson approach to the kagome with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions: phase diagram and dynamical structure factors

We have obtained the zero-temperature phase diagram of the kagome antiferromagnet with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in Schwinger-boson mean-field theory. We find quantum phase transitions (first or second order) between different topological spin liquids and Neel ordered phases (either the $\sqrt{3} \times \sqrt{3}$ state or the so-called Q=0 state). In the regime of small Schwinger-boson density, the results bear some resemblances with exact diagonalization results and we briefly discuss some issues of the mean-field treatment. We calculate the equal-time structure factor (and its angular average to allow for a direct comparison with experiments on powder samples), which extends earlier work on the classical kagome to the quantum regime. We also discuss the dynamical structure factors of the topological spin liquid and the Neel ordered phase.

cond-mat.str-el

Quantum phase transition induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya in the kagome antiferromagnet

We argue that the S=1/2 kagome antiferromagnet undergoes a quantum phase transition when the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya coupling is increased. For $D D_c$ the system develops antiferromagnetic long-range order. The quantum critical point is found to be $D_c \simeq 0.1J$ using exact diagonalizations and finite-size scaling. This suggests that the kagome compound ZnCu$_3(OH)$_6$Cl$_3$ may be in a quantum critical region controlled by this fixed point.

cond-mat.str-el

Chirality and $Z_2$ vortices in an Heisenberg spin model on the kagomé lattice

The phase diagram of the classical \jj model on the \kag lattice is investigated using extensive \mc simulations. In a realistic range of parameters, this model has a low-temperature chiral-ordered phase without long-range spin order. We show that the critical transition marking the destruction of chiral order is preempted by the first order proliferation of \Zdeux point defects. The core energy of these vortices appears to vanish when approaching the T=0 phase boundary, where both \Zdeux defects and gapless magnons contribute to disordering the system at very low temperature. This situation might be typical of a large class of frustrated magnets. Possible relevance for real materials is also discussed.

cond-mat.str-el

How to detect weak emergent broken-symmetries of the Kagome antiferromagnet from Raman spectroscopy

We show that the magnetic Raman response of a spin-liquid is independent of the polarizations of the light for triangular symmetries. In contrast, a ground-state that has a broken symmetry shows characteristic oscillations when the polarizations are rotated. This would allow to detect weak broken symmetries and emergent order-parameters. We focus on the Kagome antiferromagnet where no conventional long-range order has been found so far, and present the Raman cross-section of a spin-liquid and a valence bond crystal (VBC) using a random phase approximation.

cond-mat.str-el

Two Step Restoration of SU(2) Symmetry in a Frustrated Ring-Exchange Magnet

We demonstrate the existence of a spin-nematic, moment-free phase in a quantum four-spin ring exchange model on the square lattice. This unusual quantum state is created by the interplay of frustration and quantum fluctuations which lead to a partial restoration of SU(2) symmetry when going from a four-sublattice orthogonal biaxial Neel order to this exotic uniaxial magnet. A further increase of frustration drives a transition to a fully gapped SU(2) symmetric valence bond crystal.

cond-mat.str-el

Observation of a Transient Magnetization Plateau in a Quantum Antiferromagnet on the Kagome Lattice

The magnetization process of an S=1/2 antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice, [Cu_3(titmb)_2(OCOCH_3)_6]H_2O {titmb= 1,3,5-tris(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)-2,4,6 trimethylbenzene} has been measured at very low temperatures in both pulsed and steady fields. We have found a new dynamical behavior in the magnetization process: a plateau at one third of the saturation magnetization appears in the pulsed field experiments for intermediate sweep rates of the magnetic field and disappears in the steady field experiments. A theoretical analysis using exact diagonalization yields J_1=-19K and J_2=6K, for the nearest neighbor and second nearest neighbor interactions, respectively. This set of exchange parameters explains the very low saturation field and the absence of the plateau in the thermodynamic equilibrium as well as the two-peak feature in the magnetic heat capacity. Supported by numerical results we argue that a dynamical order by disorder phenomenon could explain the transient appearance of the 1/3 plateau in pulsed field experiments.

cond-mat.str-el

Spin-1/2 antiferromagnets in 2 dimensions

The properties of the groundstate and first excitations of 2dimensionnal quantum antiferromagnets are rapidly sketched. A special emphasis is put on the gapped phases: Valence Bond Crystals and the two types of Spin Liquids. New results on the spin susceptibility of small samples of the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a kagomé lattice are displayed for comparison with Kagemaya {\it et al.} experimental result (this conference).

cond-mat.str-el

1-Dimensional behavior and sliding Luttinger liquid phase in a frustrated spin-1/2 crossed chain model: contribution of exact diagonalizations

Exact diagonalizations indicate that the effective 1-dimensional behavior (sliding Luttinger liquid phase) of the frustrated spin-1/2 crossed chain model, predicted by Starykh, Singh and Levine [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 167203 (2002)], persists for a wide range of transverse couplings. The extension of the other phases (plaquette valence bond crystal and Néel long range order) is precised. No clear indication of a coexistence of these two phases is found, at variance with a suggestion of Sachdev and Park (cond-mat/0108214).

cond-mat.str-el

Quantum phases in two-dimensional frustrated spin-1/2 antiferromagnets

We describe four phases found in two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets. Two of them display long range order at T=0: the Néel state and the Valence Bond Crystal. The last two are Spin-Liquids. Properties of these different states are shortly described and likely conditions of their occurence outlined.

cond-mat.str-el

The planar pyrochlore: a Valence Bond Crystal

Exact diagonalizations of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on the checkerboard lattice have been performed for sizes up to N=36 in the full Hilbert space and N=40 in the restricted subspace of first neighbor dimers. This antiferromagnet does not break SU(2) symmetry and displays long range order in 4-spin S=0 plaquettes. Both the symmetry properties of the spectrum and various correlations functions are extensively studied. At variance with the kagom{é} antiferromagnet, the Heisenberg quantum model on a checkerboard lattice is a Valence Bond Crystal. Some results concerning the 3-dimensionnal spin-1/2 pyrochlore magnet (for sizes 16 and 32) are also shown: this system could behave differently from its 2-dimensional analog.

cond-mat.str-el

An investigation of the quantum $J_1-J_2-J_3$ model on the honeycomb lattice

We have investigated the quantum $J_1-J_2-J_3$ model on the honeycomb lattice with exact diagonalizations and linear spin-wave calculations for selected values of $J_{2}/J_{1}$, $J_{3}/J_{1}$ and antiferromagnetic ($J_{1}>0$) or ferromagnetic ($J_{1}<0$) nearest neighbor interactions. We found a variety of quantum effects: "order by disorder" selection of a N{é}el ordered ground-state, good candidates for non-classical ground-states with dimer long range order or spin-liquid like. The purely antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model is confirmed to be N{é}el ordered. Comparing these results with those observed on the square and triangular lattices, we enumerate some conjectures on the nature of the quantum phases in the isotropic models.

cond-mat.str-el

Some remarks on the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem and its extension to higher dimensions

The extension of the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem to dimensions larger than one is discussed. It is explained why the variational wave-function built by the previous authors is of no help to prove the theorem in dimension larger than one. The short range R.V.B. picture of Sutherland, Rokhsar and Kivelson, Read and Chakraborty gives a strong support to the assertion that the theorem is indeed valid in any dimension. Some illustrations of the general ideas are displayed on exact spectra.

cond-mat.str-el

Kagom{é} Lattice Antiferromagnet Stripped to Its Basics

We study a model of a spin S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a one dimensional lattice with the local symmetry of the two dimensional kagom{é} lattice. Using three complementary approaches, it is shown that the low energy spectrum can be described by two critical Ising models with different velocities. One of these velocities is small, leading to a strongly localized Majorana fermion. These excitations are singlet ones whereas the triplet sector has a spectral gap.

cond-mat.str-el

Spin Liquid in the Multiple-Spin Exchange model on the Triangular lattice: 3He on graphite

Using exact diagonalizations, we investigate the T=0 phase diagram of the Multi-Spin Exchange (MSE) model on the triangular lattice: we find a transition separating a ferromagnetic phase from a non-magnetic gapped Spin Liquid phase. Systems far enough from the ferromagnetic transition have a metamagnetic behavior with magnetization plateaus at m/m_sat=0 and 1/2. The MSE has been proposed to describe solid 3He films adsorbed onto graphite, thus we compute the MSE heat capacity for parameters in the low density range of the 2nd layer and find a double-peak structure.

cond-mat.str-el