2022/03/31 by Jiefu Cen, Hae‐Young Kee, Hae-Young Kee
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Anisotropy #Condensed matter physics #Ferromagnetism #Geometry #Hamiltonian (control theory) #Homogeneous space #Inelastic neutron scattering #Lattice (music) #Neutron scattering #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum mechanics #Quantum spin liquid #Scattering #Spin model #Spin polarization #Topological Materials and Phenomena #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s42005-022-00893-4
published in Communications Physics 5(1) (Nature Portfolio) · 21 pages, 3 figures
openalex created_date 2022/04/03 · openalex publication_date 2022/05/16 · arxiv created 2022/05/18 · arxiv updated 2022/05/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract The Kitaev spin liquid, a ground state of the bond-dependent Kitaev model in a honeycomb lattice has been a center of attraction, since a microscopic theory to realize such an interaction in solid-state materials was discovered. A challenge in real materials though is the presence of the Heisenberg and another bond-dependent Gamma interactions detrimental to the Kitaev spin liquid, and there have been many debates on their relative strengths. Here we offer a strategy to extract the Kitaev interaction out of a full microscopic model by utilizing the symmetries of the Hamiltonian. Two tilted magnetic field directions related by a two-fold rotational symmetry generate distinct spin excitations originated from a specific combination of the Kitaev and Gamma interactions. Together with the in- and out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy, one can determine the Kitaev and Gamma interactions separately. Dynamic spin structure factors are presented to motivate future experiments. The proposed setups will advance the search for Kitaev materials.