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  • Letter

Quantum phase diagram of the spin-12 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square-kagome lattice: A tensor network study

Saeed S. Jahromi1,2,* and Yasir Iqbal2,†

  • *Contact author: saeed.jahromi@iasbs.ac.ir
  • †Contact author: yiqbal@physics.iitm.ac.in

Phys. Rev. B 113, L140402 – Published 6 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/76vf-63zr

Abstract

We study the ground-state phase diagram of the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the square-kagome lattice using infinite projected entangled-pair states. By systematically varying the ratio of exchange couplings on triangular and square plaquettes, we establish a complete quantum phase diagram in the thermodynamic limit. In the intermediate-coupling regime, we identify four distinct nonmagnetic phases that are unambiguously characterized as valence-bond crystals (VBCs) by their symmetry-inequivalent patterns of strong and weak spin-spin correlations. These include a plaquette crossed-dimer VBC, a loop-six VBC stabilized around the isotropic point, a generalized pinwheel VBC with reduced rotational symmetry, and a decorated loop-six VBC proximate to ferrimagnetic order. We determine the phase boundaries using a combination of bond-resolved correlation functions, entanglement entropy, and magnetization. For transitions not accompanied by sharp entanglement signatures, we extract the spin gap from finite-field simulations, allowing us to distinguish gapped and gapless VBC phases. At larger coupling ratios, the system undergoes transitions into imperfect and perfect ferrimagnetic states. Our results resolve long-standing ambiguities in the square-kagome Heisenberg model and provide a quantitatively reliable reference for future theoretical and experimental studies of frustrated quantum magnets.

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