Classical and quantum spin dynamics of the honeycomb <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Γ</mml:mi></mml:math> model

Abstract

The spin of an electron is an inherently quantum-mechanical object as it is quantized as half-integer values in the unit of the Planck's constant. Indeed, a variety of magnetism phenomena arising from interacting spins in crystalline solids are direct consequences of this quantization. Yet the present study reveals that the classical dynamics of spins in frustrated magnets with strong spin-orbit coupling can describe their quantum dynamics at finite temperature. The authors show that this peculiar classical-quantum correspondence originates from the constraints on the relativemotion of spins on the crystalline lattice.