"Nonmagnetic" Dimer Mott insulator induced by the coupling of spin with quantum electric dipoles

TL;DR

This paper proposes an effective model explaining the emergence of a spin liquid Mott insulator driven by quantum electric dipoles coupling with spins, highlighting a novel mechanism beyond traditional geometrical frustration.

Contribution

It introduces a dipolar-spin model showing how quantum electric dipoles suppress exchange interactions, providing a new perspective on spin liquid Mott insulators.

Findings

Quantum electric dipoles interact via Coulomb forces.

Dipolar-spin coupling significantly reduces exchange interaction J.

Model explains the origin of spin liquid behavior in dimer Mott insulators.

Abstract

We present an effective dipolar-spin model based on the strong coupling analysis, which may explain the possible origin of the "spin liquid Mott insulator". The issue is related to the dimer Mott insulator reminiscent of the organic triangular lattice system, $\kappa$-ET$_2$Cu$_2$(CN)$_3$, whose gapless spin liquid state had been discussed in the context of geometrical frustration of exchange coupling, $J$, between spins on dimer orbitals. It turns out that another degrees of freedom within the insulator, {\it quantum electric-dipoles} on dimers, interacts with each other by the Coulomb interaction and brings about a significant suppression of $J$ through the dipolar-spin coupling.