Spinon-Induced Phonon Dynamics in Chiral and π-Flux Quantum Spin Liquids

Abstract

Quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are magnetic phases that evade long-range order down to the lowest temperatures due to strong quantum fluctuations. Their lack of conventional order parameters, however, makes experimental identification challenging. In this work, we investigate how distinct QSL phases affect phonon dynamics through spinon-phonon coupling. By computing the phonon self-energy, we show that the phonon spectrum remains unrenormalized by spinon interactions, while sound attenuation and phonon thermal conductivity exhibit distinct signatures of the underlying QSL phase. These response functions therefore provide experimentally accessible fingerprints for distinguishing different QSL backgrounds. Remarkably, we find that a chiral QSL coupled to phonons does not generate a phonon thermal Hall effect despite explicitly breaking time-reversal symmetry. Our results establish phonon transport as a potential probe for identifying and characterizing quantum spin liquids.

Kitaev, semi-Dirac, and spinon quantum spin Hall liquids on the square-hexagon-dodecagon lattice: A parent projective symmetry group classification
Harsh Raj, Yasir Iqbal
arXiv16 Oct 2026PreprintarXiv licenceFull textCondensed matterarXiv
Ultrafast Proton-Induced Collective Dynamics Regulated by Water-Mediated Hydrogen-Bond Networks in Liquids
Xiaokun Liu, Bozhu Chen, Yizhu Zhang +8
arXiv19 Oct 2026PreprintarXiv licenceFull textPhysical chemistry Atomic, molecular & optical physicsarXiv
Light-induced interlayer spacing dynamics via orbital phonon coupling
Wenwen Mao, Hanbyul Kim, Angel Rubio +1
arXiv8 Oct 2026PreprintCC BY-SA 4.0Full textCondensed matterarXiv
Open-quantum-system theory of non-Markovian electron-phonon dynamics
Gabriele Riva, Jacopo Simoni, Yuan Ping
arXiv1 Sep 2026PreprintCC BY 4.0Full textCondensed matterarXiv
Phonon dynamics in Chromium under pressure: absence of phonon criticality at the approach of the quantum critical point
P. Rodière, J. E. Lorenzo, Q. N. Meier +2
arXiv6 Aug 2026PreprintCC BY-NC-SA 4.0Full textCondensed matterarXiv

Cite

BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{hizon2026spinoninduced,
  title = {{Spinon-Induced Phonon Dynamics in Chiral and $π$-Flux Quantum Spin Liquids}},
  author = {Zachary Hizon and Kristian Hauser Villegas},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.19050},
  eprint = {2609.19050},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19050},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Spinon-Induced Phonon Dynamics in Chiral and π-Flux Quantum Spin Liquids
AU  - Zachary Hizon
AU  - Kristian Hauser Villegas
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/01
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.19050
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19050
AB  - Quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are magnetic phases that evade long-range order down to the lowest temperatures due to strong quantum fluctuations. Their lack of conventional order parameters, however, makes experimental identification challenging. In this work, we investigate how distinct QSL phases affect phonon dynamics through spinon-phonon coupling. By computing the phonon self-energy, we show that the phonon spectrum remains unrenormalized by spinon interactions, while sound attenuation and phonon thermal conductivity exhibit distinct signatures of the underlying QSL phase. These response functions therefore provide experimentally accessible fingerprints for distinguishing different QSL backgrounds. Remarkably, we find that a chiral QSL coupled to phonons does not generate a phonon thermal Hall effect despite explicitly breaking time-reversal symmetry. Our results establish phonon transport as a potential probe for identifying and characterizing quantum spin liquids.
ER  -

Abstract

Related

Cite