arXiv subjects

Kathleen Hart

Publications and source records attributed to Kathleen Hart.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Jahn-Teller effect in $j = 3/2$ Mott insulators: Ground states and thermal fluctuations

The interplay of strong atomic spin-orbit coupling with Jahn-Teller (JT) lattice distortions is an important theme in quantum materials hosting heavy atoms. A prototypical example of such a system is a degenerate $j = 3/2$ multiplet coupled to local phonon modes. Here, we study the multipolar ground states of this system as realized in Mott insulators, explore its thermal phase diagram via an $SU(4)$ spin Monte Carlo approach coupled to JT phonons, and study the temperature dependent splittings of the $j = 3/2$ multiplet as relevant to spectroscopic probes. Our work sheds light on coexisting distinct multipolar orders engendered by phonon coupling, role of thermal JT fluctuations, and the entropy of the coupled multipole-phonon system. We discuss broad implications for double perovskites $\rm Ba_2MgReO_6$, $\rm Ba_2NaOsO_6$ and lacunar spinels such as $\rm GaTa_4Se_8$ and $\rm GaNb_4Se_8$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Pseudo-chiral phonon splitting from octupolar magnetic order

Motivated by the recent discovery of anomalously large magnetic response of chiral phonons in dipolar magnets, we explore an extension to study Einstein quantum phonon modes coupled to multipolar moments. We consider the case of non-Kramers $\Gamma_3$ doublets which encapsulate quadrupolar and Ising octupolar degrees of freedom, and which feature a symmetry-allowed linear coupling between local quadrupolar moments and Raman active $E_g$ phonon modes $(d_{x^2-y^2},d_{3z^2-r^2})$. We show that either octupolar or quadrupolar ordering leads to degeneracy breaking of the $E_g$ phonon doublet, with ferro-octupolar order favoring pseudo-chiral phonon eigenmodes with a detectable energy splitting. We describe this physics using a path integral approach in the limit where `fast' phonon modes sense the `slow' pseudospins as a static background which we average over using Monte Carlo simulations. We discuss implications for materials such as Ba$_2$CaOsO$_6$ and PrV$_2$Al$_{20}$ where Raman spectroscopy of phonons could be used as a potential probe of hidden octupolar order. Our work extends the important concept of chiral phonons to a large class of multipolar magnets.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Modified large-$N$ approach to gapless spin liquids, magnetic orders, and dynamics: Application to triangular lattice antiferromagnets

Recent work has shown that the triangular lattice spin-$1/2$ $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg and XXZ antiferromagnets may exhibit coplanar or supersolid orders proximate to a gapless Dirac spin liquid phase. We explore a distinct $SU(2N)\!\!\times\!\!SU(M)$ fermionic parton approach, complemented by variational Monte Carlo calculations for the spin-$1/2$ model, to study the phase diagram of these models. We also calculate their dynamical spin response including parton interactions within a random phase approximation, and discuss implications for neutron scattering on triangular lattice cobaltates Ba$_3$CoSb$_2$O$_9$, Na$_2$BaCo(PO$_4$)$_2$, K$_2$Co(SeO$_3$)$_2$, Rb$_2$Co(SeO$_3$)$_2$, and Yb-based magnet KYbSe$_2$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

$SU(N)$ spin-phonon simulations of Floquet dynamics in spin $S > 1/2$ Mott insulators

The dynamics of magnetic moments coupled to phonons is of great interest for understanding spin transport in solids as well as for our ability to control magnetism via tailored phonon modes. For spin $S > 1/2$, spin-orbit coupling permits an unusual linear coupling of phonons to quadrupolar moments, so that phonons act as a dynamical transverse field for the spins. Here, we develop a generalized $SU(N)$ spin-phonon Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics technique to simulate the equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties of such spin-orbital-phonon coupled Mott insulators, and apply it to a spin-1 model with competing XY antiferromagnet (AFM) and quadrupolar paramagnet (QPM) phases which is relevant to the Mott insulator $\rm{Ba_2FeSi_2O_7}$. We uncover a rich variety of dynamical phenomena in this system induced by linear or chiral phonon drives, including the generation of a uniform magnetization in the QPM and AFM, strengthening of N\'eel order and gapping of the AFM Nambu-Goldstone mode by Floquet-Ising anisotropy, a non-equilibrium QPM to AFM transition, and creation of Floquet copies of transverse and longitudinal spin waves. Our work is relevant for driven spin-1 magnets, such as $\rm{Ba_2FeSi_2O_7}$, and we highlight broader implications for nonequilibrium multipolar magnetism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Unsupervised machine learning for detecting mutual independence among eigenstate regimes in interacting quasiperiodic chains

Many-body eigenstates that are neither thermal nor many-body-localized (MBL) were numerically found in certain interacting chains with moderate quasiperiodic potentials. The energy regime consisting of these non-ergodic but extended (NEE) eigenstates has been extensively studied for being a possible many-body mobility edge between the energy-resolved MBL and thermal phases. Recently, the NEE regime was further proposed to be a prethermal phenomenon that generally occurs when different operators spread at sizably different timescales. Here, we numerically examine the mutual independence among the NEE, MBL, and thermal regimes in the lens of eigenstate entanglement spectra (ES). Given the complexity and rich information embedded in ES, we develop an unsupervised learning approach that is designed to quantify the mutual independence among general phases. Our method is first demonstrated on an illustrative toy example that uses RGB color data to represent phases, then applied to the ES of an interacting generalized Aubry Andre model from weak to strong potential strength. We find that while the MBL and thermal regimes are mutually independent, the NEE regime is dependent on the former two and smoothly appears as the potential strength decreases. We attribute our numerically finding to the fact that the ES data in the NEE regime exhibits both an MBL-like fast decay and a thermal-like long tail.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2024

Phonon-driven multipolar dynamics in a spin-orbit coupled Mott insulator

Motivated by advances in pump-probe experiments and light-driven phenomena, we theoretically study the impact of pumped and driven phonons in Mott insulators which host multipole moments, thus going beyond conventional dipolar magnetism. As a case study, we examine pseudospin-1/2 Mott insulators hosting quadrupolar and octupolar moments, and investigate the effect of resonantly exciting ${\cal E}_g$ phonon modes which couple linearly to the quadrupoles. We show that this leads to multipolar precession, with the back action resulting in chiral phonon dynamics below the octupolar phase transition. We further explore the impact of a coherent two-phonon Floquet drive, showing that it can be used to `train' octupolar order or even switch its sign on ultrafast timescales. Our results are obtained combining a generalized Monte Carlo code incorporating phonons with molecular dynamics simulations which numerically integrate the coupled spin-phonon equations of motion. Our work shows how phonon-driven dynamics can be used to probe and control hidden orders in solids.

cond-mat.str-el↗