2020/03/12 by Daichi Takikawa, Satoshi Fujimoto
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Anyon #Condensed matter physics #Electron #Fermion #MAJORANA #Majorana fermion #Phase transition #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum #Quantum mechanics #Quantum spin liquid #Spin polarization #Topological Materials and Phenomena #Topological order #Topological quantum computer #Topology (electrical circuits) #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.102.174414
published as Phys. Rev. B 102, 174414 (2020) · 8 pages, 7 figures
arxiv created 2020/03/12 · openalex created_date 2020/03/23 · openalex publication_date 2020/11/09 · arxiv updated 2020/11/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We investigate how the Kitaev spin liquid state described by Majorana fermions coupled with Z2 gauge fields is affected by non-Kitaev interactions which exist in real candidate materials of the Kitaev magnet. It is found that the off-diagonal exchange interaction referred to as the \mathrm\ensuremathΓ^\ensuremath' term dramatically changes the Majorana band structure in the case of the antiferromagnetic Kitaev interaction and gives rise to a topological phase transition from a non-Abelian topological phase with the Chern number equal to \ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi1 to an Abelian phase with the Chern number equal to \ifmmode±\else\textpm\fi2, in which the Z2 vortices behave as Abelian anyons. On the other hand, other non-Kitaev interactions such as the Heisenberg interaction and the \mathrm\ensuremathΓ term only affect the bandwidth of the Majorana band as long as the spin liquid state is not destabilized.