Vacancy Induced Expansion of Spin-Liquid Regime in the Heisenberg Model
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 076502 – Published 18 February, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/rbn9-d45t
Abstract
We study the model for spin- Heisenberg antiferromagnets on a square lattice in the presence of spin vacancies. In order to overcome the methodological challenges associated with analyzing models with magnetic frustration and inhomogeneities, we introduce a new semiclassical approach in which singlet dimers are treated as effective classical degrees of freedom. The energetic and entropic aspects of the dimer formation are included via a classical Monte Carlo scheme that allows for the dynamical conversion of spin pairs into dimers and vice versa. We show that our semiclassical approach recovers the qualitative physics of the model in the absence of vacancies. The vacancies lead to a broadening of the spin-liquid regime between the Néel and the stripe antiferromagnetic phases. This suggests a possible new route to discover spin-liquid ground states by tuning the ratio in doped square lattice antiferromagnets.