Hardcore dimer aspects of the SU(2) Singlet wavefunction

We demonstrate that any SU(2) singlet wavefunction can be characterized by a set of Valence Bond occupation numbers, testing dimer presence/vacancy on pairs of sites. This genuine quantum property of singlet states (i) shows that SU(2) singlets share some of the intuitive features of hardcore quantum dimers, (ii) gives rigorous basis for interesting albeit apparently ill-defined quantities introduced recently in the context of Quantum Magnetism or Quantum Information to measure respectively spin correlations and bipartite entanglement and, (iii) suggests a scheme to define consistently a wide family of quantities analogous to high order spin correlation. This result is demonstrated in the framework of a general functional mapping between the Hilbert space generated by an arbitrary number of spins and a set of algebraic functions found to be an efficient analytical tool for the description of quantum spins or qubits systems.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

The structure of spinful quantum Hall states: a squeezing perspective

We provide a set of rules to define several spinful quantum Hall model states. The method extends the one known for spin polarized states. It is achieved by specifying an undressed root partition, a squeezing procedure and rules to dress the configurations with spin. It applies to both the excitation-less state and the quasihole states. In particular, we show that the naive generalization where one preserves the spin information during the squeezing sequence, may fail. We give numerous examples such as the Halperin states, the non-abelian spin-singlet states or the spin-charge separated states. The squeezing procedure for the series (k=2,r) of spinless quantum Hall states, which vanish as r powers when k+1 particles coincide, is generalized to the spinful case. As an application of our method, we show that the counting observed in the particle entanglement spectrum of several spinful states matches the one obtained through the root partitions and our rules. This counting also matches the counting of quasihole states of the corresponding model Hamiltonians, when the latter is available.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures; v2: minor changes, and added references. Mathematica packages are available for downloa

Master equation approach to computing RVB bond amplitudes

We describe a "master equation" analysis for the bond amplitudes h(r) of an RVB wavefunction. Starting from any initial guess, h(r) evolves (in a manner dictated by the spin hamiltonian under consideration) toward a steady-state distribution representing an approximation to the true ground state. Unknown transition coefficients in the master equation are treated as variational parameters. We illustrate the method by applying it to the J1-J2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model. Without frustration (J2=0), the amplitudes are radially symmetric and fall off as 1/r^3 in the bond length. As the frustration increases, there are precursor signs of columnar or plaquette VBS order: the bonds preferentially align along the axes of the square lattice and weight accrues in the nearest-neighbour bond amplitudes. The Marshall sign rule holds over a large range of couplings, J2/J1 < 0.418. It fails when the r=(2,1) bond amplitude first goes negative, a point also marked by a cusp in the ground state energy. A nonrigourous extrapolation of the staggered magnetic moment (through this point of nonanalyticity) shows it vanishing continuously at a critical value J2/J1 = 0.447. This may be preempted by a first-order transition to a state of broken translational symmetry.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Dynamical Structure Factor of the J1 12J2 Heisenberg Model on the Triangular Lattice: Magnons, Spinons, and Gauge Fields

Understanding the nature of the excitation spectrum in quantum spin liquids is of fundamental importance, in particular for the experimental detection of candidate materials. However, current theoretical and numerical techniques have limited capabilities, especially in obtaining the dynamical structure factor, which gives a crucial characterization of the ultimate nature of the quantum state and may be directly assessed by inelastic neutron scattering. In this work, we investigate the low-energy properties of the S = 1/2 Heisenberg model on the triangular lattice, including both nearest-neighbor J1 and next-nearestneighbor J2 superexchanges, by a dynamical variational Monte Carlo approach that allows accurate results on spin models. For J2 0 0, our calculations are compatible with the existence of a well-defined magnon in the whole Brillouin zone, with gapless excitations at K points (i.e., at the corners of the Brillouin zone). The strong renormalization of the magnon branch (also including rotonlike minima around the M points, i.e., midpoints of the border zone) is described by our Gutzwiller-projected state, where Abrikosov fermions are subject to a nontrivial magnetic \u3c0 flux threading half of the triangular plaquettes. When increasing the frustrating ratio J2/J1, we detect a progressive softening of the magnon branch at M, which eventually becomes gapless within the spin-liquid phase. This feature is captured by the band structure of the unprojected wave function (with two Dirac points for each spin component). In addition, we observe an intense signal at low energies around the K points, which cannot be understood within the unprojected picture and emerges only when the Gutzwiller projection is considered, suggesting the relevance of gauge fields for the low-energy physics of spin liquids

Valence Bond Entanglement and Fluctuations in Random Singlet Phases

The ground state of the uniform antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain can be viewed as a strongly fluctuating liquid of valence bonds, while in disordered chains these bonds lock into random singlet states on long length scales. We show that this phenomenon can be studied numerically, even in the case of weak disorder, by calculating the mean value of the number of valence bonds leaving a block of $L$ contiguous spins (the valence-bond entanglement entropy) as well as the fluctuations in this number. These fluctuations show a clear crossover from a small $L$ regime, in which they behave similar to those of the uniform model, to a large $L$ regime in which they saturate in a way consistent with the formation of a random singlet state on long length scales. A scaling analysis of these fluctuations is used to study the dependence on disorder strength of the length scale characterizing the crossover between these two regimes. Results are obtained for a class of models which include, in addition to the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain, the uniform and disordered critical 1D transverse-field Ising model and chains of interacting non-Abelian anyons.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Infinite-Randomness Fixed Points for Chains of Non-Abelian Quasiparticles

One-dimensional chains of non-Abelian quasiparticles described by $SU(2)_k$ Chern-Simons-Witten theory can enter random singlet phases analogous to that of a random chain of ordinary spin-1/2 particles (corresponding to $k \to \infty$). For $k=2$ this phase provides a random singlet description of the infinite randomness fixed point of the critical transverse field Ising model. The entanglement entropy of a region of size $L$ in these phases scales as $S_L \simeq \frac{\ln d}{3} \log_2 L$ for large $L$, where $d$ is the quantum dimension of the particles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Linear independence of nearest neighbor valence bond states on the kagome lattice and construction of SU(2)-invariant spin-1/2-Hamiltonian with a Sutherland-Rokhsar-Kivelson quantum liquid ground state

A class of local SU(2)-invariant spin-1/2 Hamiltonians is studied that has ground states within the space of nearest neighbor valence bond states on the kagome lattice. Cases include "generalized Klein'' models without obvious non-valence bond ground states, as well as a "resonating-valence-bond" Hamiltonian whose unique ground states within the nearest neighbor valence bond space are four topologically degenerate "Sutherland-Rokhsar-Kivelson'' (SRK) type wavefunctions, which are expected to describe a gapped $\mathbb{Z}_2$ spin liquid. The proof of this uniqueness is intimately related to the linear independence of the nearest neighbor valence bond states on quite general and arbitrarily large kagome lattices, which is also established in this work. It is argued that the SRK ground states are also unique within the entire Hilbert space, depending on properties of the generalized Klein models. Applications of the strategies developed in this work to other lattice types are also discussed.Comment: published version, many references added, some typos correcte

Variational ground states of 2D antiferromagnets in the valence bond basis

We study a variational wave function for the ground state of the two-dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet in the valence bond basis. The expansion coefficients are products of amplitudes h(x,y) for valence bonds connecting spins separated by (x,y) lattice spacings. In contrast to previous studies, in which a functional form for h(x,y) was assumed, we here optimize all the amplitudes for lattices with up to 32*32 spins. We use two different schemes for optimizing the amplitudes; a Newton/conjugate-gradient method and a stochastic method which requires only the signs of the first derivatives of the energy. The latter method performs significantly better. The energy for large systems deviates by only approx. 0.06% from its exact value (calculated using unbiased quantum Monte Carlo simulations). The spin correlations are also well reproduced, falling approx. 2% below the exact ones at long distances. The amplitudes h(r) for valence bonds of long length r decay as 1/r^3. We also discuss some results for small frustrated lattices.Comment: v2: 8 pages, 5 figures, significantly expanded, new optimization method, improved result

Microscopic Model for High-spin vs. Low-spin ground state in [Ni2M(CN)8][Ni_2{M(CN)_8]} (M=MoV,WV,NbIVM=Mo^V, W^V, Nb^{IV}) magnetic clusters

Conventional superexchange rules predict ferromagnetic exchange interaction between Ni(II) and M (M=Mo(V), W(V), Nb(IV)). Recent experiments show that in some systems this superexchange is antiferromagnetic. To understand this feature, in this paper we develop a microscopic model for Ni(II)-M systems and solve it exactly using a valence bond approach. We identify the direct exchange coupling, the splitting of the magnetic orbitals and the inter-orbital electron repulsions, on the M site as the parameters which control the ground state spin of various clusters of the Ni(II)-M system. We present quantum phase diagrams which delineate the high-spin and low-spin ground states in the parameter space. We fit the spin gap to a spin Hamiltonian and extract the effective exchange constant within the experimentally observed range, for reasonable parameter values. We also find a region in the parameter space where an intermediate spin state is the ground state. These results indicate that the spin spectrum of the microscopic model cannot be reproduced by a simple Heisenberg exchange Hamiltonian.Comment: 8 pages including 7 figure

Properties of the strongly paired fermionic condensates

We study a gas of fermions undergoing a wide resonance s-wave BCS-BEC crossover, in the BEC regime at zero temperature. We calculate the chemical potential and the speed of sound of this Bose-condensed gas, as well as the condensate depletion, in the low density approximation. We discuss how higher order terms in the low density expansion can be constructed. We demonstrate that the standard BCS-BEC gap equation is invalid in the BEC regime and is inconsistent with the results obtained here. We indicate how our theory can in principle be extended to nonzero temperature. The low density approximation we employ breaks down in the intermediate BCS-BEC crossover region. Hence our theory is unable to predict how the chemical potential and the speed of sound evolve once the interactions are tuned towards the BCS regime. As a part of our theory, we derive the well known result for the bosonic scattering length diagrammatically and check that there are no bound states of two bosons.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures. References added and typos correcte