The range of non-Kitaev terms and fractional particles in α-RuCl3

Significant 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 n...

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Veröffentlicht in:npj quantum materials 2020-03, Vol.5 (1), Article 14
Hauptverfasser: Wang, Yiping, Osterhoudt, Gavin B., Tian, Yao, Lampen-Kelley, Paige, Banerjee, Arnab, Goldstein, Thomas, Yan, Jun, Knolle, Johannes, Ji, Huiwen, Cava, Robert J., Nasu, Joji, Motome, Yukitoshi, Nagler, Stephen E., Mandrus, David, Burch, Kenneth S.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Significant 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 -RuCl 3 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.
ISSN:2397-4648
2397-4648
DOI:10.1038/s41535-020-0216-6