Pseudo-Goldstone Modes at Finite Temperature

Abstract

Goldstone's theorem and its extension to pseudo-Goldstone (PG) modes have profound implications across diverse areas of physics, from quantum chromodynamics to quantum magnetism. PG modes emerge from accidental degeneracies lifted by quantum and thermal fluctuations, leading to a finite gap--a phenomenon known as "order by disorder." In this paper, we derive a general curvature formula for the PG gap at finite temperature, applicable to both collinear (e.g., ferromagnets and anti-ferromagnets) and noncollinear magnetic orders (e.g., coplanar orders in frustrated magnetic systems). After validating our formula against known models, we apply it to the XXZ model on the triangular lattice, which hosts coplanar magnetic orders in equilibrium and is relevant to materials such as Na2BaCo(PO4)2 and K2Co(SeO3)2, known for their supersolid phases and giant magnetocaloric effects. Our results reveal a distinct scaling behavior: a linear decrease of the PG gap with temperature, driven by entropy effects from magnon scattering across multiple bands. This stands in stark contrast to the high-temperature scaling recently proposed for systems with a single magnon band. This work establishes a general framework for investigating PG modes at finite temperatures and opens an avenue to explore rich quantum phases and dynamics in frustrated systems with noncollinear magnetic orders.