By explicit microscopic construction involving a mapping to a quantum vertex model subject to the `ice rule,' we show that an electronically `trivial' band insulator with suitable vibrational (phonon) degrees of freedom can host a ``resonating valence-bond'' state - a quantum phase with emergent gauge fields. This novel type of band insulator is identifiable by the existence of emergent gapless `photon' modes and deconfined excitations, the latter of which carry non-quantized mobile charges. We suggest that such phases may exist in the quantum regimes of various nearly ferroelectric materials.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2405.17539,
title = {Emergent Gauge Fields in Band Insulators},
author = {Zhaoyu Han and Steven Kivelson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.17539},
year = {2025}
}