A parton perspective on dipolar-octupolar pyrochlore magnets

Motivated by recent experiments on Ce₂Zr₂O₇ that reveal a dynamic, liquid-like ground state, we study the nearest neighbor XYZ Hamiltonian of dipolar-octupolar pyrochlore magnets using the complex fermion representation. Taking the interaction between the octupolar components to be dominant and antiferromagnetic, we map out the phase diagram and identify four distinct phases: the 0-flux and π-flux quantum spin ices, and the all-in-all-out magnetic orders along the local z and x axes. We further compute the neutron scattering cross sections, which are able to capture several qualitative features observed experimentally, in the materially relevant parameter regime that stabilizes the π-flux quantum spin ice. Our results provide support for a quantum spin liquid ground state in Ce₂Zr₂O₇.