Investigation of dynamical excitations is difficult but crucial to the understanding of many exotic quantum phenomena discovered in quantum materials. This is particularly true for highly frustrated quantum antiferromagnets whose dynamical properties deviate strongly from theoretical predictions made based on the spin-wave or other approximations. Here, we present a large-scale numerical calculation on the dynamical correlation functions of spin-$1/2$ triangular Heisenberg model using a state-of-the-art tensor network renormalization group method. The calculated results allow us to gain for the first time a comprehensive picture on the nature of spin excitation spectra in this highly frustrated quantum system. It provides a quantitative account for all the key features of the dynamical spectra disclosed by inelastic neutron scattering measurements for ${\mathrm{Ba}}_3{\mathrm{CoSb}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_9$, revealing the importance of the interplay between low- and high-energy excitations and its renormalization effect to the low-energy magnon bands and high-energy continuums. We identify the longitudinal Higgs modes in the intermediate-energy scale and predict the energy and momentum dependence of spectral functions along the three principal axes that can be verified by polarized neutron scattering experiments. Furthermore, we find that the spin excitation spectra weakly depend on the anisotropic ratio of the antiferromagnetic interaction.

• Received 20 April 2022
• Revised 12 September 2022
• Accepted 31 October 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.227201