Role of quantum fluctuations on spin liquids and ordered phases in the Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice

Jaime Merino and Arnaud Ralko
Phys. Rev. B 97, 205112 – Published 10 May 2018

Abstract

Motivated by the rich physics of honeycomb magnetic materials, we obtain the phase diagram and analyze magnetic properties of the spin-1/2 and spin-1J1J2J3 Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice. Based on the SU(2) and SU(3) symmetry representations of the Schwinger boson approach, which treats disordered spin liquids and magnetically ordered phases on an equal footing, we obtain the complete phase diagrams in the (J2,J3) plane. This is achieved using a fully unrestricted approach which does not assume any pre-defined Ansätze. For S=1/2, we find a quantum spin liquid (QSL) stabilized between the Néel, spiral, and collinear antiferromagnetic phases in agreement with previous theoretical work. However, by increasing S from 1/2 to 1, the QSL is quickly destroyed due to the weakening of quantum fluctuations indicating that the model already behaves as a quasiclassical system. The dynamical structure factors and temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility are obtained in order to characterize all phases in the phase diagrams. Moreover, motivated by the relevance of the single-ion anisotropy, D, to various S=1 honeycomb compounds, we have analyzed the destruction of magnetic order based on an SU(3) representation of the Schwinger bosons. Our analysis provides a unified understanding of the magnetic properties of honeycomb materials realizing the J1J2J3 Heisenberg model from the strong quantum spin regime at S=1/2 to the S=1 case. Neutron scattering and magnetic susceptibility experiments can be used to test the destruction of the QSL phase when replacing S=1/2 by S=1 localized moments in certain honeycomb compounds.

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  • Received 24 January 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.205112

©2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Jaime Merino1,* and Arnaud Ralko2,†

  • 1Condensed Matter Physics Center (IFIMAC) and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
  • 2Institut Néel, UPR2940, Université Grenoble Alpes et CNRS, Grenoble 38042, France

  • *jaime.merino@uam.es
  • arnaud.ralko@neel.cnrs.fr

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Vol. 97, Iss. 20 — 15 May 2018

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