Variational wave functions for the S=1/2S=1/2 Heisenberg model on the anisotropic triangular lattice: Spin liquids and spiral orders

By using variational wave functions and quantum Monte Carlo techniques, we investigate the complete phase diagram of the Heisenberg model on the anisotropic triangular lattice, where two out of three bonds have super-exchange couplings $J$ and the third one has instead $J^\prime$. This model interpolates between the square lattice and the isotropic triangular one, for $J^\prime/J \le 1$, and between the isotropic triangular lattice and a set of decoupled chains, for $J/J^\prime \le 1$. We consider all the fully-symmetric spin liquids that can be constructed with the fermionic projective-symmetry group classification [Y. Zhou and X.-G. Wen, arXiv:cond-mat/0210662] and we compare them with the spiral magnetic orders that can be accommodated on finite clusters. Our results show that, for $J^\prime/J \le 1$, the phase diagram is dominated by magnetic orderings, even though a spin-liquid state may be possible in a small parameter window, i.e., $0.7 \lesssim J^\prime/J \lesssim 0.8$. In contrast, for $J/J^\prime \le 1$, a large spin-liquid region appears close to the limit of decoupled chains, i.e., for $J/J^\prime \lesssim 0.6$, while magnetically ordered phases with spiral order are stabilized close to the isotropic point.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure

Spin-lattice coupling in frustrated antiferromagnets

We review the mechanism of spin-lattice coupling in relieving the geometrical frustration of pyrochlore antiferromagnets, in particular spinel oxides. The tetrahedral unit, which is the building block of the pyrochlore lattice, undergoes a spin-driven Jahn-Teller instability when lattice degrees of freedom are coupled to the antiferromagnetism. By restricting our considerations to distortions which preserve the translational symmetries of the lattice, we present a general theory of the collective spin-Jahn-Teller effect in the pyrochlore lattice. One of the predicted lattice distortions breaks the inversion symmetry and gives rise to a chiral pyrochlore lattice, in which frustrated bonds form helices with a definite handedness. The chirality is transferred to the spin system through spin-orbit coupling, resulting in a long-period spiral state, as observed in spinel CdCr2O4. We discuss explicit models of spin-lattice coupling using local phonon modes, and their applications in other frustrated magnets.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures. Lecture notes for Trieste Summer School, August 2007. To appear as a chapter in "Highly Frustrated Magnetism", Eds. C. Lacroix, P. Mendels, F. Mil

Spectral signatures of fractionalization in the frustrated Heisenberg model on the square lattice

We employ a variational Monte Carlo approach to efficiently obtain the dynamical structure factor for the spin-1/2J1-J2 Heisenberg model on the square lattice. Upon increasing the frustrating ratio J2/J1, the ground state undergoes a continuous transition from a N\ue9el antiferromagnet to a Z2 gapless spin liquid. We identify the characteristic spectral features in both phases and highlight the existence of a broad continuum of excitations in the proximity of the spin-liquid phase. The magnon branch, which dominates the spectrum of the unfrustrated Heisenberg model, gradually loses its spectral weight, thus releasing nearly deconfined spinons, whose signatures are visible even in the magnetically ordered state. Our results provide an important example on how magnons fractionalize into deconfined spinons across a quantum critical point

Metal-insulator transition and strong-coupling spin liquid in the t−t′t{-}t^\prime Hubbard model

We study the phase diagram of the frustrated $t{-}t^\prime$ Hubbard model on the square lattice by using a novel variational wave function. Taking the clue from the backflow correlations that have been introduced long-time ago by Feynman and Cohen and have been used for describing various interacting systems on the continuum (like liquid $^3$He, the electron jellium, and metallic Hydrogen), we consider many-body correlations to construct a suitable approximation for the ground state of this correlated model on the lattice. In this way, a very accurate {\it ansatz} can be achieved both at weak and strong coupling. We present the evidence that an insulating and non-magnetic phase can be stabilized at strong coupling and sufficiently large frustrating ratio $t^\prime/t$.Comment: 8 pages, Proceedings of the HFM2008 Conferenc

Metal-insulator transition and strong-coupling spin liquid in the t−t′t{-}t^\prime Hubbard model

We study the phase diagram of the frustrated $t{-}t^\prime$ Hubbard model on the square lattice by using a novel variational wave function. Taking the clue from the backflow correlations that have been introduced long-time ago by Feynman and Cohen and have been used for describing various interacting systems on the continuum (like liquid $^3$He, the electron jellium, and metallic Hydrogen), we consider many-body correlations to construct a suitable approximation for the ground state of this correlated model on the lattice. In this way, a very accurate {\it ansatz} can be achieved both at weak and strong coupling. We present the evidence that an insulating and non-magnetic phase can be stabilized at strong coupling and sufficiently large frustrating ratio $t^\prime/t$.Comment: 8 pages, Proceedings of the HFM2008 Conferenc

Theory of antibound states in partially filled narrow band systems

We present a theory of the dynamical two-particle response function in the Hubbard model based on the time-dependent Gutzwiller approximation. The results are in excellent agreement with exact diagonalization on small clusters and give reliable results even for high densities, where the usual ladder approximation breaks down. We apply the theory to the computation of antibound states relevant for Auger spectroscopy and cold atom physics. A special bonus of the theory is its computational simplicity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Spectral properties of incommensurate charge-density wave systems

The concept of frustrated phase separation is applied to investigate its consequences for the electronic structure of the high T_c cuprates. The resulting incommensurate charge density wave (CDW) scattering is most effective in creating local gaps in k-space when the scattering vector connects states with equal energy. Starting from an open Fermi surface we find that the resulting CDW is oriented along the (10)- and (or) (01)-direction which allows for a purely one-dimensional or a two-dimensional ``eggbox type'' charge modulation. In both cases the van Hove singularities are substantially enhanced, and the spectral weight of Fermi surface states near the M-points, tends to be suppressed. Remarkably, a leading edge gap arises near these points, which, in the eggbox case, leaves finite arcs of the Fermi surface gapless. We discuss our results with repect to possible consequences for photoemission experiments

Neural Gutzwiller-projected variational wave functions

Variational wave functions have enabled exceptional scientific breakthroughs related to the understanding of novel phases of matter. Examples include the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, the description of the fractional quantum Hall effect through the Laughlin state, and Feynman's variational understanding of large-scale quantum effects in liquid helium. More recently, Gutzwiller-projected wave functions, typically constructed from fermionic degrees of freedom, have been employed to examine quantum spin models in the presence of competing interactions, where exotic phases with no spontaneous symmetry breaking and fractional excitations may exist. In this work, we investigate the aforementioned fermionic wave functions supplemented with neural networks, specifically with the so-called restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), to boost their accuracy and obtain reliable approximations to the ground state of generic spin models. In particular, we apply our neural augmented fermionic construction to the description of both magnetically ordered and disordered phases of increasing complexity, including cases where the ground state displays a nontrivial sign structure. Even though the RBM state is by far more effective for N\ue9el states endowed with a particularly simple sign structure, it provides a significant improvement over the original fermionic state in highly frustrated regimes where a complex sign structure is anticipated, thus marking the path to an understanding of strongly correlated spin models on the lattice via neural Gutzwiller-projected variational wave functions. \ua9 2019 American Physical Society

Spontaneous symmetry breaking in correlated wave functions

We show that Jastrow-Slater wave functions, in which a density-density Jastrow factor is applied onto an uncorrelated fermionic state, may possess long-range order even when all symmetries are preserved in the wave function. This fact is mainly related to the presence of a sufficiently strong Jastrow term (also including the case of full Gutzwiller projection, suitable for describing spin models). Selected examples are reported, including the spawning of N\'eel order and dimerization in spin systems, and the stabilization of charge and orbital order in itinerant electronic systems.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure

Effects of spin-phonon coupling in frustrated Heisenberg models

The existence and stability of spin-liquid phases represent a central topic in the field of frustrated magnetism. While a few examples of spin-liquid ground states are well established in specific models (e.g., the Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice), recent investigations have suggested the possibility of their appearance in several Heisenberg-like models on frustrated lattices. An important related question concerns the stability of spin liquids in the presence of small perturbations in the Hamiltonian. In this respect, the magnetoelastic interaction between spins and phonons represents a relevant and physically motivated perturbation, which has been scarcely investigated so far. In this work, we study the effect of the spin-phonon coupling on prototypical models of frustrated magnetism. We adopt a variational framework based upon Gutzwiller-projected wave functions implemented with a spin-phonon Jastrow factor, providing a full quantum treatment of both spin and phonon degrees of freedom. The results on the frustrated J(1)-J(2) Heisenberg model on one- and two-dimensional (square) lattices show that, while a valence-bond crystal is prone to lattice distortions, a gapless spin liquid is stable for small spin-phonon couplings. In view of the ubiquitous presence of lattice vibrations, our results are particularly important to demonstrate the possibility that gapless spin liquids may be realized in real materials