Revisiting the J 1 - J 2 Heisenberg Model on a Triangular Lattice: Quasi-Degenerate Ground States and Phase Competition
Researchers studied nearly degenerate ground states in a frustrated triangular lattice model to distinguish between a topological quantum spin liquid and magnetic order. Using large-scale simulations, they found that two sectors have distinct local properties, suggesting they are not just different topological sectors of a gapped spin liquid. The results point toward one state being a U(1) Dirac QSL and the other being related to magnetic order.