{
  "abstract": "Motivated by two-dimensional bilayer systems we numerically study an anti-ferromagnetic spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice with a nearest-neighbour exchange coupling $J_1$, and a next-nearest-neighbour exchange coupling $J_2'$ for the B sublattice sites only. Using infinite Projected Entangled-Pair States (iPEPS), variational uniform matrix-product states on cylinders, and exact diagonalization, we find an extended symmetric regime $0.4\\lesssim J'_2/J_1\\lesssim0.6$, in which local observables show no magnetic, valence-bond, or chiral spin order. At $J'_2/J_1=0.5$, the PEPS correlation length grows systematically with bond dimension, and an inverse-correlation-length extrapolation favors a vanishing limit. We also find that various observables scale algebraically with the finite bond-dimension-induced correlation length, which points to a gapless spin liquid ground state. We propose a $\\mathbb{Z}_2$ Dirac spin liquid parton state, with Dirac points that are protected by translation, time-reversal and three-fold rotation symmetry, as a promising candidate state to explain the numerical results. We also discuss the possibility that the symmetric ground state is a featureless, short-range entangled state with a small gap.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.25243",
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Nai Chao Hu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xing-Yu Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yuchi He"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nick Bultinck"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/01ecz7bb1qjq0.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.25243",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "01ecz7bb1qjq0",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25243",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.str-el"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "quant-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3104|Advanced Condensed Matter Physics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214113285",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.25243",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-21",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/01ecz7bb1qjq0.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:23:39Z",
      "native_id": "2609.25243",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25243"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.str-el",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:quant-ph",
      "subfield": "quantum"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Extended symmetric quantum phase in a honeycomb Heisenberg model with sublattice-selective interactions",
  "title_text": "Extended symmetric quantum phase in a honeycomb Heisenberg model with sublattice-selective interactions",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:23:39Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/01ecz7bb1qjq0",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}