Abstract
AbstractSignificant efforts have focused on the magnetic excitations of relativistic Mott insulators, predicted to realize the Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL). This exactly solvable model involves a highly entangled state resulting from bond-dependent Ising interactions that produce excitations which are non-local in terms of spin flips. A key challenge in real materials is identifying the relative size of the non-Kitaev terms and their role in the emergence or suppression of fractional excitations. Here, we identify the energy and temperature boundaries of non-Kitaev interactions by direct comparison of the Raman susceptibility of α-RuCl3 with quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) results for the Kitaev QSL. Moreover, we further confirm the fractional nature of the magnetic excitations, which is given by creating a pair of fermionic quasiparticles. Interestingly, this fermionic response remains valid in the non-Kitaev range. Our results and focus on the use of the Raman susceptibility provide a stringent new test for future theoretical and experimental studies of QSLs.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Condensed Matter Physics,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Reference73 articles.
1. Wen, X.-G. Colloquium: zoo of quantum-topological phases of matter. Rev. Mod. Phys. 89, 041004 (2017).
2. Nussinov, Z. & van den Brink, J. Compass models: theory and physical motivations. Rev. Mod. Phys. 87, 1–59 (2015).
3. Burch, K. S., Mandrus, D. & Park, J.-G. Magnetism in two-dimensional van der waals materials. Nature 563, 47–52 (2018).
4. Takahashi, S. K. et al. Spin excitations of a proximate Kitaev quantum spin liquid realized in Cu2IrO3. Phys. Rev. X 9, 031047 (2019).
5. Lee, P. A. An end to the drought of quantum spin liquids. Science 321, 1306–1307 (2008).
Cited by
42 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献，注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献，订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献