Correlation holes and slow dynamics induced by fractional statistics in gapped quantum spin liquids

Realistic model Hamiltonians for quantum spin liquids frequently exhibit a large separation of energy scales between their elementary excitations. At intermediate, experimentally relevant temperatures, some excitations are sparse and hop coherently, whereas others are thermally incoherent and dense. Here, we study the interplay of two such species of quasiparticle, dubbed spinons and visons, which are subject to nontrivial mutual statistics - one of the hallmarks of quantum spin liquid behaviour. Our results for Z2 quantum spin liquids show an intriguing feedback mechanism, akin to the Nagaoka effect, whereby spinons become localised on temperature-dependent patches of expelled visons. This phenomenon has important consequences for the thermodynamic and transport properties of the system, as well as for its response to quenches in temperature. We argue that these effects can be measured in experiments and may provide viable avenues for obtaining signatures of quantum spin liquid behaviour. Clear experimental signatures of fractional statistics in topologically ordered phases have been lacking. Here, the authors predict detectable signatures of non-trivial mutual statistics of fractionalized excitations in gapped topological quantum spin liquids at finite temperature.

Automated summary

The study focuses on the interplay of two types of excitations, spinons and visons, in quantum spin liquids, exhibiting a feedback mechanism influenced by non-trivial mutual statistics. This feedback mechanism has significant implications for the system's thermodynamic and transport properties, as well as its response to temperature changes. The authors predict detectable signatures of non-trivial mutual statistics of fractionalized excitations in gapped topological quantum spin liquids at finite temperature.