Anderson–Kitaev spin liquid

Abstract

AbstractThe bond-disordered Kitaev model attracts much attention due to the experimental relevance inα-RuCl3andA3LiIr2O6(A= H, D, Ag, etc.). Applying a magnetic field to break the time-reversal symmetry leads to a strong modulation in mass terms for Dirac cones. Because of the smallness of the flux gap of the Kitaev model, a small bond disorder can have large influence on itinerant Majorana fermions. The quantization of the thermal Hall conductivityκxy/Tdisappears by a quantum Hall transition induced by a small disorder, andκxy/Tshows a rapid crossover into a state with a negligible Hall current. We call this immobile liquid state Anderson–Kitaev spin liquid (AKSL). Especially, the critical disorder strengthδJc1~ 0.05 in the unit of the Kitaev interaction would have many implications for the stability of Kitaev spin liquids.