Topological Route to New and Unusual Coulomb Spin Liquids.

Owen Benton,Roderich Moessner

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.127.107202

Owen Benton, Roderich Moessner

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.127.107202

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Abstract

Coulomb spin liquids are topological magnetic states obeying an emergent Gauss law. Little distinction has been made between different kinds of Coulomb liquids. Here we show how a series of distinct Coulomb liquids can be generated straightforwardly by varying the constraints on a classical spin system. This leads to pair creation, and coalescence, of topological defects of an underlying vector field. The latter makes higher-rank spin liquids, of recent interest in the context of fracton theories, with attendant multifold pinch points in the structure factor, appear naturally. New Coulomb liquids with an abundance of pinch points also arise. We thus establish a new and general route to uncovering exotic Coulomb liquids, via the manipulation of topological defects in momentum space.

Highlights

Owen Benton and Roderich MoessnerWe show how a series of distinct Coulomb liquids can be generated straightforwardly by varying the constraints on a classical spin system
We introduce an approach which, besides filling in those gaps, enables the discovery, and provides a description of, new Coulomb liquids in classical spin systems almost mechanically, and shows how higher-rank Coulomb liquids arise at transitions between distinct lower-rank ones
Summary and outlook.—We have demonstrated a new approach to the discovery of models exhibiting exotic Coulomb liquids, including higher-rank Coulomb liquids

Summary

Owen Benton and Roderich Moessner

We show how a series of distinct Coulomb liquids can be generated straightforwardly by varying the constraints on a classical spin system This leads to pair creation, and coalescence, of topological defects of an underlying vector field. The latter makes higher-rank spin liquids, of recent interest in the context of fracton theories, with attendant multifold pinch points in the structure factor, appear naturally. We introduce an approach which, besides filling in those gaps, enables the discovery, and provides a description of, new Coulomb liquids in classical spin systems almost mechanically, and shows how higher-rank Coulomb liquids arise at transitions between distinct lower-rank ones. If the system has translational symmetry, Eq (3) can be rewritten in momentum space: 0031-9007=21=127(10)=107202(5)

Published by the American Physical Society

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