Abstract
We study the effect of spin-orbit interaction on one-dimensional U(1)-invariant frustrated magnets with dominant critical nematic fluctuations. The spin-orbit coupling explicitly breaks the U(1) symmetry of arbitrary global spin rotations about the high-symmetry axis down to Z2 (invariance under a π rotation). Given that the nematic order parameter is invariant under a π rotation, it is relevant to ask if other discrete symmetries can be spontaneously broken. Here we demonstrate that the spin-orbit coupling induces a bond density wave that spontaneously breaks the translational symmetry and opens a gap in the excitation spectrum.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 214408 |
| Journal | Physical Review B |
| Volume | 96 |
| Issue number | 21 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 7 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
We thank Zhentao Wang, Shi-Zeng Lin, and Yukitoshi Motome for helpful discussions. S.Z. and C.D.B. are supported by funding from the Lincoln Chair of Excellence in Physics and from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. N.K. was supported by the National Science Foundation, under Grant No. DMR-1404375. E.D. was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. S.Z. and C.D.B. are supported by funding from the Lincoln Chair of Excellence in Physics and from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. N.K. was supported by the National Science Foundation, under Grant No. DMR-1404375. E.D. was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division.