Quantum hydrodynamics of spin winding

Yaroslav Tserkovnyak, Ji Zou (邹继), Se Kwon Kim (김세권), and So Takei (竹井聡)
Phys. Rev. B 102, 224433 – Published 28 December 2020

Abstract

An easy-plane spin winding in a quantum spin chain can be treated as a transport quantity, which propagates along the chain but has a finite lifetime due to phase slips. In a hydrodynamic formulation for the winding dynamics, the quantum continuity equation acquires a source term due to the transverse vorticity flow. The latter reflects the phase slips and generally compromises the global conservation law. A linear-response formalism for the nonlocal winding transport then reduces to a Kubo response for the winding flow along the spin chain, in conjunction with the parasitic vorticity flow transverse to it. One-dimensional topological hydrodynamics can be recovered when the vorticity flow is asymptotically small. Starting with a microscopic spin-chain formulation, we focus on the asymptotic behavior of the winding transport based on the renormalized sine-Gordon equation, incorporating phase slips as well as Gilbert damping. A generic electrical device is proposed to manifest this physics. We thus suggest winding conductivity as a tangible concept that can characterize low-energy dynamics in a broad class of quantum magnets.

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  • Received 30 September 2020
  • Accepted 9 December 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.224433

©2020 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Yaroslav Tserkovnyak1, Ji Zou (邹继)1, Se Kwon Kim (김세권)2, and So Takei (竹井聡)3

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
  • 3Department of Physics, Queens College of the City University of New York, Queens, New York 11367, USA

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Issue

Vol. 102, Iss. 22 — 1 December 2020

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