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Title: Magnetic impurity as a local probe of the $U(1)$ quantum spin liquid with spinon Fermi surface

Abstract

We solve the problem of a magnetic impurity coupled to a U(1) quantum spin liquid with a spinon Fermi surface, and we compute the impurity spectral function. Using the slave rotor mean-field approach combined with gauge field fluctuations, we find that a peak located at the top of the lower Hubbard band and one at the bottom of the upper Hubbard band can emerge in the impurity spectral function. The peaks at the Hubbard band edges arise from the gauge field fluctuation-induced spinon-chargon binding inside the spinon Kondo screening cloud of the magnetic impurity. For a magnetic impurity embedded in a Mott insulator, our findings suggest that the emergence of a pair of peaks at the Hubbard band edges in the impurity density of states spectra provides strong evidence that the host Mott insulator is a U(1) quantum spin liquid with a spinon Fermi surface.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]
  1. Shanghai Technical University (China); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1979759
Grant/Contract Number:  
FG02-03ER46076
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review. B
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 105; Journal Issue: 19; Journal ID: ISSN 2469-9950
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; quantum spin liquid; transition metal dichalcogenides; Anderson impurity model; Hubbard model; mean field theory

Citation Formats

He, Wen-Yu, and Lee, Patrick A. Magnetic impurity as a local probe of the $U(1)$ quantum spin liquid with spinon Fermi surface. United States: N. p., 2022. Web. doi:10.1103/physrevb.105.195156.
He, Wen-Yu, & Lee, Patrick A. Magnetic impurity as a local probe of the $U(1)$ quantum spin liquid with spinon Fermi surface. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.105.195156
He, Wen-Yu, and Lee, Patrick A. Tue . "Magnetic impurity as a local probe of the $U(1)$ quantum spin liquid with spinon Fermi surface". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.105.195156. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1979759.
@article{osti_1979759,
title = {Magnetic impurity as a local probe of the $U(1)$ quantum spin liquid with spinon Fermi surface},
author = {He, Wen-Yu and Lee, Patrick A.},
abstractNote = {We solve the problem of a magnetic impurity coupled to a U(1) quantum spin liquid with a spinon Fermi surface, and we compute the impurity spectral function. Using the slave rotor mean-field approach combined with gauge field fluctuations, we find that a peak located at the top of the lower Hubbard band and one at the bottom of the upper Hubbard band can emerge in the impurity spectral function. The peaks at the Hubbard band edges arise from the gauge field fluctuation-induced spinon-chargon binding inside the spinon Kondo screening cloud of the magnetic impurity. For a magnetic impurity embedded in a Mott insulator, our findings suggest that the emergence of a pair of peaks at the Hubbard band edges in the impurity density of states spectra provides strong evidence that the host Mott insulator is a U(1) quantum spin liquid with a spinon Fermi surface.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevb.105.195156},
journal = {Physical Review. B},
number = 19,
volume = 105,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue May 31 00:00:00 EDT 2022},
month = {Tue May 31 00:00:00 EDT 2022}
}

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