Sasank Budaraju

The behavior of the paradigmatic J 1 − J 2 triangular lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet in a magnetic field remains unsettled despite decades of study. We map out the phase diagram using three complementary approaches, including self-consistent nonlinear spin-wave theory, density-matrix renormalization group, and variational Monte Carlo. This combined analysis resolves the competition among different field-induced magnetic orders and magnetization plateaus across the classically frustrated parameter range. In particular, there is a finite range in the parameter regime around J 2 / J 1 = 1 8 in which (i) upon the application of the external field, the gapless quantum spin liquid acquires a finite density of monopoles, and (ii) by further increasing the field, two plateaus are clearly obtained at m = 1 3 and m = 1 2 . We discuss the experimental importance of the consecutive magnetization plateau transitions as a signature of an underlying quantum spin-liquid phase.

Chiral spin liquids (CSL) based on spin-1/2 fermionic projected entangled pair states (fPEPS) are considered on the square lattice. First, fPEPS approximants of Gutzwiller-projected Chern insulators (GPCI) are investigated by variational Monte Carlo (VMC) techniques on finite-size tori. We show that such fPEPS of finite bond dimension can correctly capture the topological properties of the chiral spin liquid, as the exact GPCI, with the correct topological ground-state degeneracy on the torus. Further, more general fPEPS are considered and optimized (on the infinite plane) to describe the CSL phase of a chiral frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet. The chiral modes are computed on the edge of a semi-infinite cylinder (of finite circumference) and shown to follow the predictions from conformal field theory. In contrast to their bosonic analogs the (optimized) fPEPS do not suffer from the replication of the chiral edge mode in the odd topological sector.