Max Planck Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, 01187 Dresden, Germany.
Max Planck Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, 01187 Dresden, Germany
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2016 Aug 28;374(2075). doi: 10.1098/rsta.2016.0093.
The formulation of a complete theory of classical electromagnetism by Maxwell is one of the milestones of science. The capacity of many-body systems to provide emergent mini-universes with vacua quite distinct from the one we inhabit was only recognized much later. Here, we provide an account of how simple systems of localized spins manage to emulate Maxwell electromagnetism in their low-energy behaviour. They are much less constrained by symmetry considerations than the relativistically invariant electromagnetic vacuum, as their substrate provides a non-relativistic background with even translational invariance broken. They can exhibit rich behaviour not encountered in conventional electromagnetism. This includes the existence of magnetic monopole excitations arising from fractionalization of magnetic dipoles; as well as the capacity of disorder, by generating defects on the lattice scale, to produce novel physics, as exemplified by topological spin glassiness or random Coulomb magnetism.This article is part of the themed issue 'Unifying physics and technology in light of Maxwell's equations'.
麦克斯韦对经典电磁理论的完整表述是科学的里程碑之一。多体系统具有涌现出与我们所居住的真空截然不同的迷你宇宙的能力，直到后来才被认识到。在这里，我们提供了一个说明，说明如何通过局域自旋的简单系统在其低能行为中模拟麦克斯韦电磁学。与相对论不变的电磁真空相比，它们受到的对称性考虑的限制要少得多，因为它们的衬底提供了一个非相对论背景，甚至打破了平移不变性。它们可以表现出在传统电磁学中没有遇到的丰富行为。这包括由于磁偶极子的分数化而产生的磁单极子激发的存在;以及无序通过在晶格尺度上产生缺陷来产生新物理的能力，例如拓扑自旋玻璃或随机库仑磁性。本文是主题为“根据麦克斯韦方程组统一物理和技术”的特刊的一部分。
