Quantum spin dynamics of the one-dimensional planar antiferromagnet

Transition to the Haldane phase driven by electron-electron correlations

One of the most famous quantum systems with topological properties, the spin [Formula: see text] antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain, is well-known to display exotic [Formula: see text] edge states. However, this spin model has not been analyzed from the more general perspective of strongly correlated systems varying the electron-electron interaction strength. Here, we report the investigation of the emergence of the Haldane edge in a system of interacting electrons - the two-orbital Hubbard model-with increasing repulsion strength U and Hund interaction JH. We show that interactions not only form the magnetic moments but also form a topologically nontrivial fermionic many-body ground-state with zero-energy edge states. Specifically, upon increasing the strength of the Hubbard repulsion and Hund exchange, we identify a sharp transition point separating topologically trivial and nontrivial ground-states. Surprisingly, such a behaviour appears already at rather small values of the interaction, in a regime where the magnetic moments are barely developed.

Quantifying and Controlling Entanglement in the Quantum Magnet Cs_{2}CoCl_{4}

The lack of methods to experimentally detect and quantify entanglement in quantum matter impedes our ability to identify materials hosting highly entangled phases, such as quantum spin liquids. We thus investigate the feasibility of using inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to implement a model-independent measurement protocol for entanglement based on three entanglement witnesses: one-tangle, two-tangle, and quantum Fisher information (QFI). We perform high-resolution INS measurements on Cs_{2}CoCl_{4}, a close realization of the S=1/2 transverse-field XXZ spin chain, where we can control entanglement using the magnetic field, and compare with density-matrix renormalization group calculations for validation. The three witnesses allow us to infer entanglement properties and make deductions about the quantum state in the material. We find QFI to be a particularly robust experimental probe of entanglement, whereas the one and two-tangles require more careful analysis. Our results lay the foundation for a general entanglement detection protocol for quantum spin systems.

Low temperature ballistic spin transport in the S = 1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain compound SrCuO2

We report zero and longitudinal magnetic field muon spin relaxation (μSR) measurements of the spin S = 1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chain material SrCuO2. We find that in a weak applied magnetic field B0 the spin-lattice relaxation rate λ follows a power law λ is proportional to B(0)(-n) with n = 0.9(3). This result is temperature independent for 5 K ≤ T ≤ 300 K. Within conformal field theory and using the Müller ansatz we conclude ballistic spin transport in SrCuO2.

Tracking the effects of interactions on spinons in gapless Heisenberg chains

We consider the effects of interactions on spinon excitations in Heisenberg spin-1/2 chains. We compute the exact two-spinon part of the longitudinal structure factor of the infinite chain in zero field for all values of anisotropy in the gapless antiferromagnetic regime, via an exact algebraic approach. Our results allow us to quantitatively describe the behavior of these fundamental excitations throughout the observable continuum, for cases ranging from free to fully coupled chains, thereby explicitly mapping the effects of "turning on the interactions" in a strongly correlated system.

Direct observation of magnon fractionalization in the quantum spin ladder

We measure by inelastic neutron scattering the spin excitation spectra as a function of applied magnetic field in the quantum spin-ladder material (C5H12N)2CuBr4. Discrete magnon modes at low fields in the quantum disordered phase and at high fields in the saturated phase contrast sharply with a spinon continuum at intermediate fields characteristic of the Luttinger-liquid phase. By tuning the magnetic field, we drive the fractionalization of magnons into spinons and, in this deconfined regime, observe both commensurate and incommensurate continua.

Exact edge singularities and dynamical correlations in spin-1/2 chains

Exact formulas for the singularities of the dynamical structure factor, Szz(q,omega), of the S=1/2 xxz spin chain at all q and any anisotropy and magnetic field in the critical regime are derived, expressing the exponents in terms of the phase shifts which are known exactly from the Bethe ansatz solution. We also study the long-time asymptotics of the self-correlation function 0|Sjz(t)Sjz(0)|0. Utilizing these results to supplement very accurate time-dependent density matrix renormalization group, for short to moderate times, we calculate Szz(q,omega) to very high precision.

Dynamics and scaling in a quantum spin chain material with bond randomness

Single crystal inelastic neutron scattering is used to study dynamic spin correlations in the quasi-one-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet BaCu2(Si0.5Ge0.5)2O7, where the exchange constant fluctuates due to a random distribution of Si and Ge atoms. The measured low-energy spectrum is dominated by localized excitations and can be understood in the framework of the random singlet model. The observed scaling relations for the frequency dependencies of the correlation length and structure factor are in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions for the renormalization group fixed point.

Energy separation of single-particle and continuum states in an S = 1/2 weakly coupled chains antiferromagnet

Inelastic neutron scattering is used to study transverse-polarized magnetic excitations in the quasi-one-dimensional S = 1/2 antiferromagnet BaCu2Si2O7, where the saturation value for the Neel order parameter is m(0) = 0.12&mgr;(B) per spin. At low energies the spectrum is totally dominated by resolution-limited spin-wave-like excitations. An excitation continuum sets in above a well-defined threshold frequency. Experimental results are discussed in the context of current theories for weakly interacting quantum half-integer-spin chains.