Valence-bond crystal in a {111} slice of the pyrochlore antiferromagnet

TL;DR

This paper theoretically explores how quantum spin fluctuations induce valence-bond order in a two-dimensional slice of the pyrochlore antiferromagnet, revealing a mechanism for lifting degeneracy in frustrated magnetic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analysis of quantum effects in a {111} slice of the pyrochlore lattice, showing the emergence of long-range valence-bond order due to quantum corrections.

Findings

Quantum fluctuations partially lift classical degeneracy.

Long-range valence-bond order is stabilized.

Analysis applies to a {111} slice of pyrochlore lattice.

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the ordering effect of quantum spin fluctuations in a Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a two-dimensional network of corner sharing tetrahedra. This network is obtained as a {111} slice of the highly frustrated pyrochlore lattice, from which it inherits the equivalence of all three pairs of opposite bonds of each tetrahedron. The lowest-order (in 1/S) quantum corrections partially lift the huge degeneracy of the classical ground state and select an ensemble of states with long-range valence-bond order.