Emergent Moments and Random Singlet Physics in a Majorana Spin Liquid

We exhibit an exactly solvable example of a SU(2) symmetric Majorana spin liquid phase, in which quenched disorder leads to random-singlet phenomenology of emergent magnetic moments. More precisely, we argue that a strong-disorder fixed point controls the low temperature susceptibility chi(T) of an exactly solvable S = 1/2 model on the decorated honeycomb lattice with vacancy and/or bond disorder, leading to chi(T) = C/T + DT alpha(T)-1, where alpha(T) -> 0 slowly as the temperature T -> 0. The first term is a Curie tail that represents the emergent response of vacancy-induced spin textures spread over many unit cells: it is an intrinsic feature of the site-diluted system, rather than an extraneous effect arising from isolated free spins. The second term, common to both vacancy and bond disorder [with different alpha(T) in the two cases] is the response of a random singlet phase, familiar from random antiferromagnetic spin chains and the analogous regime in phosphorus-doped silicon (Si:P).

Automated summary

This study presents an exactly solvable example of a SU(2) symmetric Majorana spin liquid phase, where strong disorder results in a random-singlet phenomenon of emergent magnetic moments. The low temperature susceptibility χ(T) is controlled by a strong-disorder fixed point in an S = 1/2 model on a decorated honeycomb lattice with vacancy and/or bond disorder. The response of a random singlet phase is a common feature in both vacancy-induced spin textures and bond disorder, reminiscent of other systems like random antiferromagnetic spin chains and phosphorus-doped silicon (Si:P).