Thermodynamic signature of SU(4) spin-orbital liquid and symmetry fractionalization from Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem

Abstract

The state-of-the-art numerical simulation of the SU(4) Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice reveals a characteristic peak-and-shoulder specific heat behavior. The low-temperature peak is associated with a color gap, which suggests the existence of a gapped symmetric ground state in this model.