Repulsively coupled phase oscillators are mapped to antiferromagnetic XY models on frustrated geometries, with relaxation on the kagome lattice selecting metastable torque-balanced states over global synchrony or exact ground states.
Energy landscape of the kagome antiferromagnet: Characterization of multiple energy scales
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abstract
We investigate the energy landscape of the kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet within its coplanar ground-state manifold. Although coplanar states are degenerate at harmonic order, transitions between them require collective weathervane-loop rotations whose barriers grow strongly with loop size. To characterize this structure, we construct disconnectivity graphs using two complementary approaches: exact enumeration and minimax-barrier calculations for small lattices, and a statistical construction for large lattices based on random walks through configuration space, with loop length used as a proxy for barrier height. The exact landscape reveals a dominant low-barrier scale associated with elementary six-spin loops and a broader higher-barrier sector from longer rearrangements. For large systems, the statistical analysis exposes a hierarchy of barrier scales, including a pronounced six-spin-loop peak and an intermediate scale-free regime of loop lengths. This hierarchy provides a natural basis for multiple dynamical time scales: six-spin loops govern the fastest local relaxation, while slower collective dynamics arise from activation of longer loops. These results show that the coplanar manifold is dynamically rugged, with its low-energy dynamics governed by a hierarchy of loop-mediated barriers.
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cond-mat.dis-nn 1years
2026 1verdicts
UNVERDICTED 1representative citing papers
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Frustrated neurons: Energy landscapes and relaxation dynamics in repulsive phase oscillators
Repulsively coupled phase oscillators are mapped to antiferromagnetic XY models on frustrated geometries, with relaxation on the kagome lattice selecting metastable torque-balanced states over global synchrony or exact ground states.