通过涉及映射到受“冰规则”约束的量子顶点模型的显式微观构造，研究组证明了具有适当振动（声子）自由度的电子“平凡”带绝缘体可以承载“共振价键”状态——一个具有涌现规范场的量子相。
这种带绝缘体可以通过出现的无带隙“光子”模式和去精细激发的存在来识别，后者携带非量子化的移动电荷。研究组认为，这些相可能存在于各种近铁电材料的量子体系中。
附：英文原文
Title: Emergent gauge fields in band insulators
Author: Han, Zhaoyu, Kivelson, Steven A.
Issue&Volume: 2025-4-7
Abstract: By explicit microscopic construction involving a mapping to a quantum vertex model subject to the “ice rule,” we show that an electronically “trivial” band insulator with suitable vibrational (phonon) degrees of freedom can host a “resonating valence-bond” state—a quantum phase with emergent gauge fields. This type of band insulator is identifiable by the existence of emergent gapless “photon” modes and deconfined excitations, the latter of which carry nonquantized mobile charges. We suggest that such phases may exist in the quantum regimes of various nearly ferroelectric materials.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2421778122
Source: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2421778122