Abstract
We present an extensive analytical and numerical study of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the Cairo pentagonal lattice, the dual of the Shastry-Sutherland lattice with a close realization in the S=5/2 compound Bi 2Fe 4O 9. We consider a model with two exchange couplings suggested by the symmetry of the lattice, and we investigate the nature of the ground state as a function of their ratio x and the spin S. After establishing the classical phase diagram, we switch on quantum mechanics in a gradual way that highlights the different role of quantum fluctuations on the two inequivalent sites of the lattice. The most important findings for S=1/2 include (i) a surprising interplay between a collinear and a four-sublattice orthogonal phase due to an underlying order-by-disorder mechanism at small x (related to an emergent J 1-J 2 effective model with J 2 J 1), and (ii) a nonmagnetic and possibly spin-nematic phase with d-wave symmetry at intermediate x.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 104415 |
Journal | Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics |
Volume | 85 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 23 2012 |