Rotational symmetry breaking potential for two-dimensional magnets

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel approach to understanding the breakdown of ferromagnetic order in 2D magnets by examining lattice rotation effects, revealing tunable phases including magnetic and nematic states.

Contribution

It presents a new model incorporating lattice rotation and low-symmetry interactions, enabling control over magnetic and nonmagnetic phases in 2D spin systems.

Findings

Lattice rotation can induce aperiodic magnetic structures.

Tuning a single parameter switches between ordered and exotic phases.

The model is extendable to various 2D spin-exchange systems.

Abstract

Here we present a new perspective to the breakdown of ferromagnetic order in two-dimensional spin-lattice models employing the rotation of the underlying lattice. Using an Ising spin system on a square lattice as a prototype, we demonstrate that an additional low-symmetry interaction may lead to the absence of the truly long-range order and forms aperiodic structure, such as magnetic stripes. Employing annealing and entropic Monte Carlo simulations, we show that our model allows tuning between different phases, magnetically ordered as well as more exotic nonmagnetic phases such as Ising-nematic by changing only one control parameter, which is responsible for the arising of magnetic frustration. In addition, our methodology of considering the coupling between the magnetic structure and the host material can be extended to the study of any type of spin-exchange model in two dimensions and has many potential interesting ramifications and applications.