Signature of a Z_2 vortex in the dynamical correlations of the triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet

Abstract

Dynamical properties of the classical Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the triangular lattice are investigated by means of a spin-dynamics simulation and an analytical calculation. While the model was suggested to exhibit a topological transition driven by the Z_2-vortex binding-unbinding, weakness of the associated thermodynamic singularity has made it difficult to observe the evidence of the Z_2 vortex experimentally so far, only some indirect support. Here, we show that the signature of the Z_2-vortex excitation and the vortex-induced topological transition can be captured from the dynamical spin correlations. In particular, the dynamical spin structure factor exhibits a characteristic central peak around the Z_2-vortex transition, and this central peak will be a fingerprint of the Z_2-vortex excitation.