Fingerprints of supersymmetric spin and charge dynamics observed by inelastic neutron scattering

Abstract

Supersymmetry is an algebraic property of a quantum Hamiltonian that, by giving every boson a fermionic superpartner and vice versa, may underpin physics beyond the Standard Model. Fractional bosonic and fermionic quasiparticles are familiar in condensed matter, as in the spin and charge excitations of the t-J model describing electron dynamics in one-dimensional materials, but this type of symmetry is almost unknown. However, the triplet excitations of a quantum spin ladder in an applied magnetic field provide a supersymmetric analogue of the t-J chain. Here we perform neutron spectroscopy on the spin-ladder compounds (C5D12N)2CuBr4 and (C5D12N)2CuCl4 over a range of applied fields and temperatures, and apply matrix-product-state methods to the ladder and equivalent chain models. From the momentum-resolved dynamics of a single charge-like excitation in a bath of fractional spins, we find essential differences in thermal broadening between the supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric sectors. The persistence of a strict zone-centre pole at all temperatures constitutes an observable consequence of supersymmetry that marks the beginning of supersymmetric studies in experimental condensed matter.