Abstract
We address the ground-state properties of the long-standing and much-studied three-dimensional quantum spin liquid candidate, the S=1/2 pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet. By using SU(2) density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG), we are able to access cluster sizes of up to 128 spins. Our most striking finding is a robust spontaneous inversion symmetry breaking, reflected in an energy density difference between the two sublattices of tetrahedra, familiar as a starting point of earlier perturbative treatments. We also determine the ground-state energy, E_{0}/N_{sites}=-0.490(6)J, by combining extrapolations of DMRG with those of a numerical linked cluster expansion. These findings suggest a scenario in which a finite-temperature spin liquid regime gives way to a symmetry-broken state at low temperatures.
Highlights
We address the ground-state properties of the long-standing and much-studied three-dimensional quantum spin liquid candidate, the
We determine the ground-state energy, E0=Nsites 1⁄4 −0.490ð6ÞJ, by combining extrapolations of densitymatrix renormalization group (DMRG) with those of a numerical linked cluster expansion. These findings suggest a scenario in which a finite-temperature spin liquid regime gives way to a symmetry-broken state at low temperatures
While recent experimental evidence in the approximately isotropic S 1⁄4 1 compound NaCaNi2F7 shows a spin liquid like state down to low temperature [31], the S 1⁄4 1=2 case is still open both in theory and experiment. Theory work on this prominent quantum spin liquid candidate over the years has been formidable
Summary
Densitymatrix renormalization group (DMRG), we are able to access cluster sizes of up to 128 spins. We determine the ground-state energy, E0=Nsites 1⁄4 −0.490ð6ÞJ, by combining extrapolations of DMRG with those of a numerical linked cluster expansion These findings suggest a scenario in which a finite-temperature spin liquid regime gives way to a symmetry-broken state at low temperatures. While recent experimental evidence in the approximately isotropic S 1⁄4 1 compound NaCaNi2F7 shows a spin liquid like state down to low temperature [31], the S 1⁄4 1=2 case is still open both in theory and experiment. One strand of work has built on a perturbative approach, in which half the couplings (those on one tetrahedral sublattice) are switched on perturbatively This has led to suggestions of a ground state which breaks translational and rotational symmetries [7,32,33], a valence bond crystal [10] or a spin liquid state [34].
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