I generalize the theory of phonon topological band structures of isostatic lattices to frustrated antiferromagnets. I achieve this with a discovery of a many-body supersymmetry (SUSY) in the phonon problem of balls and springs and its connection to local constraints satisfied by ground states. The Witten index of the SUSY model demands the Maxwell-Calladine index of mechanical structures. “Spontaneous supersymmetry breaking” is identified as the need to gap all modes in the bulk to create the topological isostatic lattice state. Since ground states of magnetic systems also satisfy local constraint conditions (such as the vanishing of the total spin on a triangle), I identify a similar SUSY structure for many common models of antiferromagnets including the square, triangluar, kagome, pyrochlore nearest-neighbor antiferromagnets, and the $J_2=J_1/2$ square-lattice antiferromagnet. Remarkably, the kagome family of antiferromagnets is the analog of topological isostatic lattices among this collection of models. Thus, a solid-state realization of the theory of phonon topological band structure may be found in frustrated magnetic materials.

• Received 11 November 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.165101