arXiv subjects

Subhro Bhattacharjee

Publications and source records attributed to Subhro Bhattacharjee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

From Quantum Dimers to the $\pi$-flux Toric Code via Deconfined Multicriticality

Two-dimensional Rokhsar-Kivelson (RK) dimer models on bipartite lattices are generally limited to translation-symmetry-broken dimer crystals. We introduce a tensor-product regularisation of the dimer Hilbert space that yields a qubit Hamiltonian interpolating from the RK model to the $\pi$-flux toric code, thereby accessing a deconfined $\mathbb{Z}_2$ topological liquid. In this framework, the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ liquid descends from a multicritical $U(1)$ spin liquid through condensation of a charge-2 Higgs field, thus avoiding confinement. Using iDMRG together with low-energy field theory, we determine a phase diagram containing two continuous quantum phase transitions -- a $3\mathrm{D}$ XY$^{\ast}$ transition between the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ liquid and the columnar/plaquette-VBS, and a quantum Lifshitz transition between two dimer crystals -- alongside a first-order transition between the staggered crystal and the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ liquid. Our field theory suggests a deconfined multicritical point described by an Abelian Higgs model with dynamical critical exponent, $z=2$, where the three transitions meet, highlighting the interplay of fractionalisation and emergent gauge fluctuations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Arrested Relaxation in a Disorder-Free Coulomb Spin Liquid

We investigate Coulomb spin liquids in classical spin-3/2 ice and show that the enlarged on-site Hilbert space gives rise to a qualitatively new class of such phases. Beyond the conventional magnetic monopoles of spin-1/2 ice, the system hosts additional low-energy crystal-field excitations, whose interplay with monopoles significantly modifies both equilibrium and non-equilibrium properties. Following a thermal quench, we find a pronounced dynamical arrest manifested in an exponentially long-lived {athermal} plateau in spin autocorrelations. This constitutes a rare example of dynamical arrest in a short-range interacting, disorder-free system. We demonstrate that the arrested dynamics originate from novel composite excitation structures unique to spin-3/2 ice and from kinetically constrained relaxation pathways that require activated processes. Our results establish higher-spin ice as a fertile platform for realising unconventional Coulomb spin liquids and dynamical arrest without quenched disorder.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

How many-body chaos emerges in the presence of quasiparticles

Many-body chaos is a default property of many-body systems; at the same time, near-integrable behaviour due to weakly interacting quasiparticles is ubiquitous throughout condensed matter at low temperature. There must therefore be a, possibly generic, crossover between these very different regimes. Here, we develop a theory encapsulating the notion of a cascade of lightcones seeded by sequences of scattering of weakly interacting harmonic modes as witnessed by a suitably defined chaos diagnostic (classical decorrelator) that measures the spatiotemporal profile of many-body chaos. Our numerics deals with the concrete case of a classical Heisenberg chain, for either sign of the interaction, at low temperatures where the short-time dynamics are well captured in terms of non-interacting spin waves. To model low-temperature dynamics, we use ensembles of initial states with randomly embedded point defects in an otherwise ordered background, which provides a controlled setting for studying the scattering events. The decorrelator exhibits a short-time integrable regime followed by an intermediate `scarred' regime of the cascade of lightcones in progress; these then overlap, leading to an avalanche of scattering events which finally yields the standard long-time signature of many-body chaos.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

Stress Response of Jammed Solids: Prestress and Screening

Unlike classical elasticity, where stresses arise from deformations relative to a stress-free reference configuration, rigidity in amorphous systems is maintained by disordered force networks that generate internal prestress. Previously, we introduced a ''stress-only'' formulation, where mechanical equilibrium resembles Gauss's law in a rank-2 tensor electrostatics with vector charges, and demonstrated that the mechanical response of jammed solids is described by the dielectric response of this gauge-theoretic formulation. Here, we extend this framework by incorporating scale-dependent screening that captures both dielectric and Debye-type behaviour. This introduces a characteristic length scale in stress correlations as well as in the response to external forces. Through numerical simulations of soft-sphere packings, we show that this length scale is set by the particle size, thus providing a natural ultraviolet cutoff while preserving long-wavelength emergent elasticity. We show that this lengthscale remains finite for all pressures, with no evidence for an emergent Debye-like screening near the frictionless unjamming transition. We demonstrate that although individual realisations show strong fluctuations, disorder averaging at fixed macroscopic conditions yields a robust dielectric-like response that persists up to unjamming. Finally, we also provide a physical interpretation of the gauge field within the electrostatic mapping: relative grain displacements in response to localised external perturbations correspond to difference in the gauge field, linking the field-theoretic description to particle-level mechanics.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Multiple Dirac Spin-Orbital Liquids in SU(4) Heisenberg Antiferromagnets on the Honeycomb Lattice

We study the strong coupling model of $d^1$ transition metal tri-halides in the large spin-orbit coupled limit. By considering ab-initio-calculation-inspired hierarchy of hopping pathways of these compounds, SU(4) symmetry is found to emerge at multiple points in the parameter space of the hopping parameters. The resultant Dirac spin-orbital liquids, within the parton mean field description, are distinct. The calculated dynamical structure factor fingerprints this distinctive nature, giving rise to observable effects. This opens up a playground for SU(4) Dirac Spin-Orbital liquid in $d^1$ Honeycomb lattice systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Intermittent fluctuations determine the nature of chaos in turbulence

We adapt recent ideas for many-body chaos in nonlinear, Hamiltonian fluids [Murugan \textit{et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 124501 (2021)] to revisit the question of the Reynolds number Re dependence of the Lyapunov exponent $\lambda\propto{\rm Re}^\alpha$ in fully developed turbulence. The use of such decorrelators allow us to investigate the interplay of the competing effects of viscous dissipation and nonlinearity. We obtain a precise value of $\alpha = 0.59 \pm 0.04$ and show that departure from the Kolmogorov mean field result $\lambda \propto \sqrt{{\rm Re}}$ is a consequence of the intermittent fluctuations in the velocity-gradient tensor. The robustness of our results are further confirmed in a local, dynamical systems model for turbulence.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Superconductivity in Spin-Orbit coupled SU(8) Dirac Fermions on Honeycomb lattice

We study superconducting (SC) phases that are naturally proximate to a spin-orbit coupled SU(8) Dirac semi-metal on a honeycomb lattice. This system, which offers enhanced low-energy symmetries, presents an interesting platform for realizing unconventional superconductivity in j=3/2 electrons. In particular, we find 72 superconducting charge-$2e$ fermion bilinears which, under classification of microscopic symmetries, lead to 12 different SCs -- four singlets, two doublets, and six triplets -- 7 of them are gapped and 5 are symmetry-protected nodal SCs. The strong spin-orbit coupling leads to locking of the spin of the Cooper pairs with real-space direction -- as is evident from the structure of the Cooper pair wave-functions -- leading to unusual non-unitary superconductors (even singlets), and with finite momentum pairing (for the triplets). This results, in many cases, in the magnitude of multiple pairing gaps being intricately dependent on the direction of the SC order-parameter. The present classification of SCs along with normal phases (Phys. Rev. B 108, 245106 (2023)) provides the complete list of naturally occurring phases in the vicinity of such a SU(8) Dirac semi-metal. This study allows for understanding the global phase diagram of such systems, stimulating further experimental work on candidate materials such as metallic halides (MX$_3$ with M=Zr, Hf, and X=Cl, Br). Further, it provides the starting point for the exploration of unconventional phase transitions in such systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Phases and phase transitions in a dimerized spin-$\mathbf{\frac{1}{2}}$ XXZ chain

We revisit the phase diagram of the dimerized XXZ spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ chain with nearest-neighbor couplings which was studied numerically in Phys. Rev. B 106, L201106 (2022). The model has isotropic $XY$ couplings which have a uniform value and $ZZ$ couplings which have a dimerized form, with strengths $J_a$ and $J_b$ on alternate bonds. We find a rich phase diagram in the region of positive $J_a, ~J_b$. We provide a detailed understanding of the different phases and associated quantum phase transitions using a combination of mean-field theory, low-energy effective Hamiltonians, renormalization group calculations employing the technique of bosonization, and numerical calculations using the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method. The phase diagram consists of two Ising paramagnetic phases called IPM$_0$ and IPM$_\pi$, and a phase with Ising Neel order called IN; all these phases are gapped. The phases IPM$_0$ and IPM$_\pi$ are separated by a gapless phase transition line given by $0 \le J_a = J_b \le 1$ which is described by a conformal field theory with central charge $c=1$. There are two gapless phase transition lines separating IPM$_0$ from IN and IPM$_\pi$ from IN; these are described by conformal field theories with $c=\frac{1}{2}$ corresponding to quantum Ising transitions. The $c=1$ line bifurcates into the two $c=\frac{1}{2}$ lines at the point $J_a = J_b = 1$; the shape of the bifurcation is found analytically using RG calculations. A symmetry analysis shows that IPM$_0$ is a topologically trivial phase while IPM$_\pi$ is a time-reversal symmetry-protected topological phase (SPT) with spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ states at the two ends of an open system. The numerical results obtained by the DMRG method are in good agreement with the analytical results. Finally we propose experimental platforms for testing our results.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Variational wave-functions for correlated metals

We study a set of many-body wave-functions of Fermions that are naturally written using momentum space basis and allow for quantum superposition of Fermion occupancy, $\{n_{\bf k}\}$. This {enables} us to capture the fluctuations of the Fermi-surface {(FS)} -- the singularly most important signature of a metal. We bench-mark our results in one spatial dimensions (1D) to show that these wave-functions allow for quantitative understanding of the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL); computations of certain correlators using them can in fact be extended to larger systems sizes compared to conventional exact diagonalization (ED) allowing for a more systematic comparison with bosonization techniques. Finally we show that this basis may be useful for obtaining fixed-point wave-function for strongly correlated metals {in dimensions greater that one}. In particular, we study the case of coherent (equal) superposition of elliptical FS {in continuum (2D) and on a} square lattice{. In case of the former, our variational wave-function systematically interpolates between the phenomenology of the Fermi liquid ground state, i.e., finite single-Fermion residue at a sharp FS, to a non-Fermi liquid (NFL) with zero residue. In the NFL the jump in $\langle n_{\bf k}\rangle$ at the FS is replaced by a point of inflection (similar to a 1D TLL) whose contour is consistent with the Luttinger Theorem. In case of the square lattice, we} find highly anisotropic distribution of the quasi-particle residue, which, at finite resolution has an uncanny resemblance to the Fermi-arcs{, albeit at zero temperature,} seen in the pseudo-gap state of the cuprates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Ab-initio Insights on the Fermiology of $d^1$ Transition metals in Honeycomb lattice : Hierarchy of hopping pathways and spin-orbit coupling

Motivated by the intriguing suggestion of realizing SU(8) Dirac semi-metal with $J=3/2$ electrons on a honeycomb lattice, we provide a systematic study of the interplay of various hopping pathways and atomic spin-orbit coupling for the low energy electrons in candidate d$^1$ transition metal halides MX$_3$ (M=Ti, Zr, Hf; X=F, Cl, Br). By combining first principle calculations and minimal hopping Hamiltonian, we uncover the role of dominant direct metal-metal hopping on top of indirect metal-halide-metal hopping. This sets up a hierarchy of hopping pathways that centrally modify the SU(8) picture for the above materials. These hopping interactions, along with the spin-orbit coupling, lead to a plethora of exactly compensated metals instead of the SU(8) Dirac semi-metal. Remarkably the same can be understood as descendants of a topological insulator obtained by gapping out the SU(8) Dirac semi-metallic phase. The resultant compensated metals have varied Fermi surface topology and are separated by Lifshitz phase transitions. We discuss the implications of the proximate Lifshitz transition, which may be accessed via strain, in the context of the relevant materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Strong coupling of lattice and orbital excitations in quantum magnet Ca$_{10}$Cr$_7$O$_{28}$: Anomalous temperature dependence of Raman phonons

We report low-temperature Raman signatures of the Heisenberg quantum magnet Ca$_{10}$Cr$_7$O$_{28}$, showing clear anomalies in phonon mode frequencies and linewidths below $\sim$100 K. This crossover temperature lies in between the Jahn-Teller (JT) temperature scale ($>$ room temperature) and the temperature scale associated with the spin exchange interactions ($<$ 12 K). Our experimental observation is well captured by a novel secondary JT transition associated with a cooperative reorientation of the orbitals giving rise to anomalies in the temperature dependence of Raman frequencies and linewidths. Such orbital reorganisation, in turn, affects the spin-spin exchange interactions that decide the fate of the magnet at lower temperatures and hence provide important clues to understand the energetics of the possible lower temperature quantum paramagnetic phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Tuning the magnetic properties in MPS3 (M = Mn, Fe, and Ni) by proximity-induced Dzyaloshinskii Moriya interactions

Tailoring the quantum many-body interactions in layered materials through appropriate heterostructure engineering can result in emergent properties that are absent in the constituent materials thus promising potential future applications. In this article, we have demonstrated controlling the otherwise robust magnetic properties of transition metal phosphorus trisulphides (Mn/Fe/NiPS3) in their heterostructures with Weyl semimetallic MoTe2 which can be attributed to the Dzyaloshinskii Moriya (DM) interactions at the interface of the two different layered materials. While the DM interaction is known to scale with the strength of the spin-orbit coupling (SOC), we also demonstrate here that the effect of DM interaction strongly varies with the spin orientation/dimensionality of the magnetic layer and the low-energy electronic density of state of the spin-orbit coupled layer. The observations are further supported by a series of experiments on heterostructures with a variety of substrates/underlayers hosting variable SOC and electronic density of states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Elastic signatures of a spin-nematic

We study the elastic signatures -- renormalisation of sound velocity and magnetostriction -- of the spin-nematic phase of a spin-$1$ magnet on a triangular lattice described by the bilinear-biquadratic spin Hamiltonian. We show that at low temperatures, the scattering of the acoustic phonons from the Goldstone modes of the nematic phase lead to a powerlaw renormalisation of the fractional change in the sound velocity, $v$, as a function of temperature, $T$, i.e. $\Delta v/v\propto T^3$ as opposed to the same in the high temperature paramagnet where $\Delta v/v\propto T^{-1}$. At the generically discontinuous nematic transition, there is a jump in magnetostriction as well as $\Delta v/v$ along with enhanced $h^4$ dependence on the magnetic field, $h$, near the nematic transition. These signatures can help positively characterise the spin-nematic in general and in particular the realisation of such a phase in the candidate material NiGa$_2$S$_4$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Emergent SU(8) Dirac semimetal and novel proximate phases of spin-orbit coupled fermions on a honeycomb lattice

Emergent Dirac fermions provide the starting point to understanding the plethora of novel condensed matter phases. The nature of the associated phases and phase transitions crucially depends on both the emergent symmetries as well as the implementation of the microscopic ones on the low-energy Dirac fermions. Here, we show that $j=3/2$ electrons in spin-orbit coupled materials on honeycomb lattice can give rise to SU(8) symmetric Dirac semimetals with symmetry implementation very different from that of graphene. This non-trivial embedding of the microscopic symmetries in the low energy is reflected in the nature of phases proximate to the Dirac semimetal. Such phases can arise from finite short-range electron-electron interactions. In particular, we identify 24 such phases - divided into three classes - and their low energy properties obtained by condensing particle-number conserving fermion bilinears that break very different microscopic symmetries and/or are topologically protected by symmetries. The latter includes interesting generalisations of quantum spin-Hall phases. Remarkably some of the resultant phases still support a sub-set of gapless fermions - protected by a sub-group of SU(8) - resulting in interesting density wave semimetals. Near the phase transitions to such density wave semimetals, the surviving gapless fermions strongly interact with the bosonic order parameter field and give rise to novel quantum critical points. Our study is applicable to a wide class of $d^1$ and $d^3$ transition metals with strong spin-orbit coupling and predicts that such materials can harbour a very rich interplay of symmetries and competing interactions in the intermediate correlation regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Probing octupolar hidden order via Janus impurities

Quantum materials with non-Kramers doublets are a fascinating venue to realize multipolar hidden orders. Impurity probes which break point group symmetries, such as implanted muons or substitutional impurities, split the non-Kramers degeneracy and exhibit a Janus-faced influence in such systems: they can destroy the very order they seek to probe. Here, we explore this duality in cubic osmate double perovskites which are candidates for exotic $d$-orbital octupolar order competing with quadrupolar states. Using {\it ab initio} computations, Landau theory, and Monte Carlo simulations, we show that Janus impurities induce local strain fields, nucleating quadrupolar puddles and suppressing the octupolar $T_c$. At the same time, strains mix the non-Kramers doublet with an excited magnetic triplet, creating parasitic dipole moments which directly expose the hidden octupolar order parameter. Our work unravels this Janus duality in recent impurity nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments, with important implications for uncovering hidden order in diverse multipolar materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Anyon dynamics in field-driven phases of the anisotropic Kitaev model

The Kitaev model on a honeycomb lattice with bond-dependent Ising interactions offers an exactly solvable model of a quantum spin liquid (QSL) with gapped $Z_2$ fluxes and gapless linearly dispersing Majorana fermions in the isotropic limit ($K_x=K_y=K_z$). We explore the phase diagram along two axes, an external magnetic field, $h$, applied out-of-plane of the honeycomb, and anisotropic interactions, $K_z$ larger than the other two. For $K_z/K\gg 2$ and $h=0$, the matter Majorana fermions have the largest gap, and the system is described by a gapped $Z_2$ Toric code in which the $Z_2$ fluxes form the low energy bosonic Ising electric (e) and magnetic (m) charges along with their fermionic bound state $\epsilon=e\times m$. In this regime, we find that a small out-of-plane magnetic field creates $\epsilon$ fermions that disperse in fixed one-dimensional directions before the transition to a valence bond solid phase, providing a direct dynamical signature of low energy $Z_2$ Abelian flux excitations separated from the Majorana sector. At lower $K_z$ in the center of the Abelian phase, in a regime we dub the primordial fractionalized (PF) regime, the field generates a hybridization between the $\epsilon$ fermions and the Majorana matter fermions, resulting in a $\psi$ fermion. All the other phases in the field-anisotropy plane are naturally obtained from this primordial soup. We show that in the $Z_2$ Abelian phase, including the PF regime, the dynamical structure factors of local spin flip operators reveal distinct peaks that can be identified as arising from different anyonic excitations. We present in detail their signatures in energy and momentum and propose their identification by inelastic light scattering or inelastic polarized neutron scattering as ``smoking gun" signatures of fractionalization in the QSL phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Tensor Electromagnetism and Emergent Elasticity in Jammed Solids

The theory of mechanical response and stress transmission in disordered, jammed solids poses several open questions of how non-periodic networks -- apparently indistinguishable from a snapshot of a fluid -- sustain shear. We present a stress-only theory of emergent elasticity for a non-thermal amorphous assembly of grains in a jammed solid, where each grain is subjected to mechanical constraints of force and torque balance. These grain-level constraints lead to the Gauss's law of an emergent $U(1)$ tensor electromagnetism, which then accounts for the mechanical response of such solids. This formulation of amorphous elasticity has several immediate consequences. The mechanical response maps exactly to the static, dielectric response of this tensorial electromagnetism with the polarizability of the medium mapping to emergent elastic moduli. External forces act as vector electric charges whereas the tensorial magnetic fields are sourced by momentum density. The dynamics in the electric and magnetic sectors, naturally translate into the dynamics of the rigid jammed network and ballistic particle motion respectively. The theoretical predictions for both stress-stress correlations and responses are borne out by the results of numerical simulations of frictionless granular packings in the static limit of the theory in both 2D and 3D.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

Probing emergent QED in quantum spin ice via Raman scattering of phonons: shallow inelastic scattering and pair production

We present a new mechanism for Raman scattering of phonons, which is based on the linear magnetoelastic coupling present in non-Kramers magnetic ions. This provides a direct coupling of Raman-active phonons to the magnet's quasiparticles. We propose to use this mechanism to probe the emergent magnetic monopoles, electric charges, and photons of the emergent quantum electrodynamics (eQED) of the U(1) quantum spin liquid known as quantum spin ice. Detecting this eQED in candidate rare-earth pyrochlore materials, or indeed signatures of topological magnetic phases more generally, is a challenging task. We show that the Raman scattering cross-section of the phonons directly yields relevant information, with the broadening of the phonon linewidth, which we compute, exhibiting a characteristic frequency dependence reflecting the two-particle density of states of the emergent excitations. Remarkably, we find that the Raman linewidth is sensitive to the details of the symmetry fractionalisation and hence can reveal information about the projective implementation of symmetry in the quantum spin liquid, thereby providing a diagnostic for a $\pi$-flux phase. The Raman scattering of the phonons thus provides a useful experimental tool to probe the fractionalisation in quantum spin liquids that turns out closely to mirror pair production in quantum electrodynamics and the deep inelastic scattering of quantum chromodynamics. Indeed, the difference to the latter is conceptual more than technical: the partons (quarks) emerge from the hadrons at high energies due to asymptotic freedom, while those in eQED arise from fractionalisation of the spins at low energies.

cond-mat.str-el↗