Spin gaps and bilayer coupling in YBa2Cu3O7- delta and YBa2Cu4O8

Dynamics of a Magnetic Polaron in an Antiferromagnet

The t-J model remains an indispensable construct in high-temperature superconductivity research, bridging the gap between charge dynamics and spin interactions within antiferromagnetic matrices. This study employs the multiple Davydov Ansatz method with thermo-field dynamics to dissect the zero-temperature and finite-temperature behaviors. We uncover the nuanced dependence of hole and spin deviation dynamics on the spin-spin coupling parameter J, revealing a thermally-activated landscape where hole mobilities and spin deviations exhibit a distinct temperature-dependent relationship. This numerically accurate thermal perspective augments our understanding of charge and spin dynamics in an antiferromagnet.

Symmetry-Resolved Two-Magnon Excitations in a Strong Spin-Orbit-Coupled Bilayer Antiferromagnet

We used a combination of polarized Raman spectroscopy and spin wave calculations to study magnetic excitations in the strong spin-orbit-coupled bilayer perovskite antiferromagnet Sr_{3}Ir_{2}O_{7}. We observed two broad Raman features at ∼800 and ∼1400  cm^{-1} arising from magnetic excitations. Unconventionally, the ∼800  cm^{-1} feature is fully symmetric (A_{1g}) with respect to the underlying tetragonal (D_{4h}) crystal lattice which, together with its broad line shape, definitively rules out the possibility of a single magnon excitation as its origin. In contrast, the ∼1400  cm^{-1} feature shows up in both the A_{1g} and B_{2g} channels. From spin wave and two-magnon scattering cross-section calculations of a tetragonal bilayer antiferromagnet, we identified the ∼800  cm^{-1} (1400  cm^{-1}) feature as two-magnon excitations with pairs of magnons from the zone-center Γ point (zone-boundary van Hove singularity X point). We further found that this zone-center two-magnon scattering is unique to bilayer perovskite magnets which host an optical branch in addition to the acoustic branch, as compared to their single layer counterparts. This zone-center two-magnon mode is distinct in symmetry from the time-reversal symmetry broken "spin wave gap" and "phase mode" proposed to explain the ∼92  meV (742  cm^{-1}) gap in resonant inelastic x-ray spectroscopy magnetic excitation spectra of Sr_{3}Ir_{2}O_{7}.

Variational study of the quantum phase transition in the bilayer Heisenberg model with bosonic RVB wavefunction

We study the ground state phase diagram of the bilayer Heisenberg model on a square lattice with a bosonic resonating valence bond (RVB) wavefunction. The wavefunction has the form of a Gutzwiller projected Schwinger boson mean-field ground state and involves two variational parameters. We find the wavefunction provides an accurate description of the system on both sides of the quantum phase transition. In particular, through the analysis of the spin structure factor, ground state fidelity susceptibility and the Binder moment ratio Q(2), a continuous transition from the antiferromagnetic ordered state to the quantum disordered state is found at the critical coupling of α(c) = J(⊥)/J(∥) ≈ 2.62, in good agreement with the result of quantum Monte Carlo simulation. The critical exponent estimated from the finite size scaling analysis (1/ν ≈ 1.4) is consistent with that of the classical 3D Heisenberg universality class.