An extended non-magnetic phase in the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet from the ruby to the maple-leaf lattice

Abstract

The spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the two-dimensional ruby and maple-leaf lattices provides a stringent test case for frustrated quantum magnetism, where semiclassical magnetic order competes closely with quantum-paramagnetic states. We study the generalized maple-leaf model along the axis interpolating between the isotropic ruby lattice and the isotropic maple-leaf lattice, using two independent variational infinite projected entangled-pair state ansätze: one defined on the mapped square lattice and one directly on the native triangular lattice. Our lowest-energy variational states show no magnetic order throughout the region connecting the two isotropic limits, and the local bond correlations recover the $120^\circ$ lattice rotation symmetry without imposing it explicitly. Magnetic-field simulations at the two endpoints further indicate a finite zero-magnetization plateau in both cases, with a gradual onset of magnetization on the ruby lattice and a sharper onset on the maple-leaf lattice. These results establish a broad gapped non-magnetic regime in a minimal nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model on lattices of direct relevance to both frustrated quantum magnets and programmable ruby-lattice simulators.