Energy landscape of the kagome antiferromagnet: Characterization of multiple energy scales

We investigate the energy landscape of the kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet within its coplanar ground-state manifold. Although coplanar states are degenerate at harmonic order, transitions between them require collective weathervane-loop rotations whose barriers grow strongly with loop size. To characterize this structure, we construct disconnectivity graphs using two complementary approaches: exact enumeration and minimax-barrier calculations for small lattices, and a statistical construction for large lattices based on random walks through configuration space, with loop length used as a proxy for barrier height. The exact landscape reveals a dominant low-barrier scale associated with elementary six-spin loops and a broader higher-barrier sector from longer rearrangements. For large systems, the statistical analysis exposes a hierarchy of barrier scales, including a pronounced six-spin-loop peak and an intermediate scale-free regime of loop lengths. This hierarchy provides a natural basis for multiple dynamical time scales: six-spin loops govern the fastest local relaxation, while slower collective dynamics arise from activation of longer loops. These results show that the coplanar manifold is dynamically rugged, with its low-energy dynamics governed by a hierarchy of loop-mediated barriers.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Physics Condensed Matter
Published
2026-08-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648x/ae9f08
Primary Topic
Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Energy landscape of the kagome antiferromagnet: Characterization of multiple energy scales

Brandon B. Le, Seung-Hun Lee, Gia-Wei Chern
Journal of Physics Condensed Matter
Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
article

Energy landscape of the kagome antiferromagnet: Characterization of multiple energy scales

Brandon B. Le, Seung-Hun Lee, Gia-Wei Chern
article en

Abstract

We investigate the energy landscape of the kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet within its coplanar ground-state manifold. Although coplanar states are degenerate at harmonic order, transitions between them require collective weathervane-loop rotations whose barriers grow strongly with loop size. To characterize this structure, we construct disconnectivity graphs using two complementary approaches: exact enumeration and minimax-barrier calculations for small lattices, and a statistical construction for large lattices based on random walks through configuration space, with loop length used as a proxy for barrier height. The exact landscape reveals a dominant low-barrier scale associated with elementary six-spin loops and a broader higher-barrier sector from longer rearrangements. For large systems, the statistical analysis exposes a hierarchy of barrier scales, including a pronounced six-spin-loop peak and an intermediate scale-free regime of loop lengths. This hierarchy provides a natural basis for multiple dynamical time scales: six-spin loops govern the fastest local relaxation, while slower collective dynamics arise from activation of longer loops. These results show that the coplanar manifold is dynamically rugged, with its low-energy dynamics governed by a hierarchy of loop-mediated barriers.

Journal of Physics Condensed Matter
University of Virginia (US)
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 64%
Advanced Condensed Matter Physics
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Energy landscape of the kagome antiferromagnet: Characterization of multiple energy scales — Brandon B. Le, Seung-Hun Lee, et al. · Journal of Physics Condensed Matter (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS