English

Spin dynamics of the spin-1 triangular lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet K$_2$Ni(SeO$_3$)$_2$

Materials Science 2026-03-02 v1 Strongly Correlated Electrons

Abstract

Strong quantum fluctuations and unconventional spin dynamics are well established in the spin-1/2 triangular lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet. However, their survival in the spin-1 case remains an open question. We investigate the spin dynamics of K2_2Ni(SeO3_3)2_2, a nearly ideal spin-1 triangular lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet, using inelastic neutron scattering. Below the ordering temperature TNT_{\rm N}, we observe coherent one-magnon excitations coexisting with a broad high-energy continuum. Two complementary approaches, a spectrally consistent 1/S1/S-corrected spin wave theory and a beyond-mean-field Schwinger boson theory, reproduce different facets of the continuum. Neither alone is complete, demonstrating substantial quantum fluctuations survive for S ⁣= ⁣1S\!=\!1 and are reflected primarily in the spectral distribution of the continuum. Above TNT_{\rm N}, the continuum bandwidth is conserved while spectral weight is redistributed as magnons lose spatial coherence. Our results establish K2_2Ni(SeO3_3)2_2 as a model triangular antiferromagnet, identifying bandwidth conservation and the distribution of spectral weight within the continuum as organizing principles to understand the spin dynamics of ordered quantum magnets beyond spin-1/2. Our results highlight the need for controlled calculations of the interacting multi-magnon sector of 2D antiferromagnets.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2602.24212,
  title  = {Spin dynamics of the spin-1 triangular lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet K$_2$Ni(SeO$_3$)$_2$},
  author = {Chaebin Kim and Sathvik Nallapati and E. A. Ghioldi and Long Chen and Alexander I. Kolesnikov and Haidong Zhou and Shang-Shun Zhang and Cristian D. Batista and Martin Mourigal},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.24212},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

7 pages, 3 figures, including supplementary information