In the pseudospin-$\frac{1}{2}$ honeycomb Mott insulators with strong spin-orbit coupling, there are two types of bond-dependent exchange interactions, named Kitaev ($K$) and $Γ$, leading to strong frustration. While the ground state of the Kitaev model is a quantum spin liquid with fractionalized excitations, the ground state of the $Γ$ model remains controversial. In particular, the phase diagram of the $KΓ$ model with ferromagnetic $K$ and antiferromagnetic $Γ$ interactions has been intensively studied because of its relevance to candidate materials such as $α$-RuCl$_{3}$. Numerical studies also included the effects of tuning the bond strengths, i.e., $z$-bond strength different from the other bonds. However, no clear consensus on the overall phase diagram has been reached yet. Here we study the classical $KΓ$ model with the anisotropic bond strength using Monte Carlo simulations to understand the emerging phases out of competition between the two frustrated limits. We also address how the anisotropic bond strength affects the phase diagram and strength of quantum fluctuations. We found various large unit cell phases due to the competing frustrations, and analyzed their intrinsic degeneracy based on the symmetry of the Hamiltonian. Using the linear spin wave theory we showed that the anisotropic bond strength enhances quantum fluctuations in the $Γ$-dominant regime where a small reduced moment is observed. The implications of our findings in relation to the quantum model are also discussed.
Triangular Heisenberg antiferromagnets are prototypes of geometric frustration, even if for nearest-neighbor interactions quantum fluctuations are not usually strong enough to destroy magnetic ordering: stronger frustration is required to stabilize a spin-liquid phase. On the basis of static magnetization and electron spin resonance measurements, we demonstrate the emergence of ${\tilde{j}_{\text{eff}}=\frac12}$ moments in the triangular-lattice magnet Na$_2$BaCo(PO$_4$)$_2$. These moments are subject to an extra source of frustration that causes magnetic correlations to set in far above both …
Ground State Properties of the Doped Kitaev-Heisenberg Chain: Topological Superconducting and Mott Insulating Phases Driven by Magnetic Frustration
University of Warsaw（华沙大学）；TU Wien（维也纳工业大学）；Technical University Dresden（德累斯顿工业大学）；Institute for Theoretical Solid State Physics, IFW Dresden（德累斯顿联邦材料研究所理论固态物理研究所）
Recently, Co-based honeycomb magnets have been proposed as promising candidate materials to host the Kitaev spin liquid state. One of the front-runners is BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$ (BCAO), where it was suggested that the exchange processes between Co$^{2+}$ ions via the surrounding edge-sharing oxygen octahedra could give rise to bond-dependent Kitaev interactions. In this work, we present and analyze comprehensive inelastic neutron scattering studies of BCAO with fields in the honeycomb plane. Combining the constraints from the magnon excitations in the high-field polarized state and the inelasti…
In this work, we analyze the nonsymmorphic symmetry group structures for a variety of generalized Kitaev spin chains and ladders with bond alternations, including Kitaev-Gamma chain, Kitaev-Heisenberg-Gamma chain, beyond nearest neighbor interactions, and two-leg spin ladders. The symmetry analysis is applied to determine the symmetry breaking patterns of several magnetically ordered phases in the bond-alternating Kitaev-Gamma spin chains, as well as the dimerization order parameters for spontaneous dimerizations. Our work is useful in understanding the magnetic phases in related models and ma…
The quest for Kitaev quantum spin liquids has led to great interest in honeycomb quantum magnets with strong spin-orbit coupling. It has been recently proposed that even Mott insulators with $3d$ transition metal ions, having nominally weak spin-orbit coupling, can realize such exotic physics. Motivated by this, we study the rhombohedral honeycomb cobaltates CoTiO$_3$, BaCo$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$, and BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$, using $\textit{ab initio}$ density functional theory, which takes into account realistic crystal field distortions and chemical information, in conjunction with exact diagonalizat…
We study bond energy correlation functions in an exactly solvable quantum spin model of Kitaev type on the kagome lattice with stable Fermi surface of partons proposed recently by Chua et al, Ref.\[arXiv:1010.1035]. Even though any spin correlations are ultra-short ranged, we find that the bond energy correlations have power law behavior with a $1/|{\bm r}|^3$ envelope and oscillations at incommensurate wavevectors. We determine the corresponding singular surfaces in momentum space, which provide a gauge-invariant characterization of this gapless spin liquid.
The layered honeycomb lattice iridate Cu$_2$IrO$_3$ is the closest realization of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid, primarily due to the enhanced interlayer separation and nearly ideal honeycomb lattice. We report pressure-induced structural evolution of Cu$_2$IrO$_3$ by powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) up to $\sim$17 GPa and Raman scattering measurements up to $\sim$25 GPa. A structural phase transition (monoclinic $C2/c \: \rightarrow$ triclinic $P\bar{1}$) is observed with a broad mixed phase pressure range ($\sim$4 to 15 GPa). The triclinic phase consists of heavily distorted honeycomb lattic…
Magnetization and high-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements of the Kitaev-Heisenberg material alpha-RuCl3 reveal a pressure-induced crystallographic and magnetic phase transition at a hydrostatic pressure of p=0.2 GPa. This structural transition into a triclinic phase is characterized by a very strong dimerization of the Ru-Ru bonds, accompanied by a collapse of the magnetic susceptibility. Ab initio quantum-chemistry calculations disclose a pressure-induced enhancement of the direct 4d-4d bonding on particular Ru-Ru links, causing a sharp increase of the antiferromagnetic exchange intera…
Spin-orbit coupling locks spin direction and spatial orientation and generates, in semi-classical magnets, a local spin easy-axis and associated ordering. Quantum spin-1/2's defy this fate: rather than spins becoming locally anisotropic, the spin-spin interactions do. Consequently interactions become dependent on the spatial orientation of bonds between spins, prime theoretical examples of which are Kitaev magnets. Bond-directional interactions imply the existence of bond-directional magnetic modes, predicted spin excitations that render crystallographically equivalent bonds magnetically inequ…
The Kitaev model realizes a quantum spin liquid where the spin excitations are fractionalized into itinerant Majorana fermions and localized $\mathbb{Z}_2$ vortices. Quantum entanglement between the fractional excitations can be utilized for decoherence-free topological quantum computation. Of particular interest is the anyonic statistics realized by braiding the vortex excitations under a magnetic field. Despite the promising potential, the practical methodology for creation and control of the vortex excitations remains elusive thus far. Here we theoretically propose how one can create and mo…
Topological and Trivial Valence-Bond Orders in Higher-Spin Kitaev Models
Ghent University（根特大学）；University of Amsterdam（阿姆斯特丹大学）；Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, United Kingdom（鲁道夫·皮尔斯理论物理中心，克拉伦登实验室，英国牛津公园路）
The Kitaev model, characterized by bond-dependent Ising spin interactions among spin-orbit entangled dipole moments in Mott insulators, offered a new approach to quantum spin liquids. Motivated by another type of bond-dependent interaction among quadrupole moments in $5d^2$ Mott insulators, we provide a microscopic route to uncover the Kitaev multipolar liquid, featuring fractionalized excitations out of non-Kramers doublets carrying multipole moments. The key ingredient is the magnetic field that allows for bond-anisotropic quadrupole-octupole interactions via mixing with the excited triplet …
Honeycomb iridates are thought to have strongly spin-anisotropic exchange interactions that could lead to an extraordinary state of matter known as the Kitaev quantum spin liquid. The realization of this state requires almost perfectly frustrated interactions between the magnetic Ir$^{4+}$ ions, but small imbalances in energy make other ordered states more favorable. Indeed, the closeness in energy of these ordered states is itself a signature of the intrinsic frustration in the system. In this work, we illustrate that small magnetic fields can be employed to drive the frustrated quantum magne…
We investigate magnetic properties in the $S=1$ Kitaev model in the anisotropic limit. Performing the fourth-order perturbation expansion with respect to the $x$-bonds, $y$-bonds, and magnetic field, we derive the effective Hamiltonian, where the low-energy physics should be described by the free spins with an effective magnetic field. Making use of the exact diagonalization method for small clusters, we discuss ground-state properties in the system complementary.
The Kitaev-Heisenberg (KH) model has been proposed to capture magnetic interactions in iridate Mott insulators on the honeycomb lattice. We show that analogous interactions arise in many other geometries built from edge-sharing IrO_6 octahedra, including the pyrochlore and hyperkagome lattices relevant to Ir2O4 and Na4Ir3O8 respectively. The Kitaev spin liquid exact solution does not generalize to these lattices. However, a different exactly soluble point of the honeycomb lattice KH model, obtained by a four-sublattice transformation to a ferromagnet, generalizes to all these lattices. A Klein…
We show that the electronic structures of the title compounds predicted by density functional theory (DFT) are well described by tight binding models. We determine the frustration ratio, J'/J, of the Heisenberg model on the anisotropic triangular lattice, which describes the spin degrees of freedom in the Mott insulating phase for a range of Pd(dmit)2 salts. All of the antiferromagnetic materials studied have J'/J < 0.5 or J'/J > 0.9, consistent with predictions for the Heisenberg model. All salts with 0.5 < J'/J < 0.9, where many-body theories find a number of competing ground states, are kno…
Interleaved bond frustration in a triangular lattice antiferromagnet
University of California, Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校）；Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）；Oak Ridge National Laboratory（橡树岭国家实验室）；Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University（康奈尔大学高能同步辐射光源，康奈尔大学）；Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory（阿贡国家实验室先进光子源）
The Kitaev spin liquid, a ground state of the bond-dependent Kitaev model in a honeycomb lattice has been a centre 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 mag…
We consider the spin--orbital model for a magnetic system with singly occupied but triply degenerate $t_{2g}$ orbitals coupled into a planar, triangular lattice, as would be exemplified by NaTiO$_2$. We investigate the ground states of the model for interactions which interpolate between the limits of pure superexchange and purely direct exchange interactions. By considering ordered and dimerized states at the mean--field level, and by interpreting the results from exact diagonalization calculations on selected finite systems, we demonstrate that orbital interactions are always frustrated, and…
We theoretically study the magnetic excitations in a frustrated two-leg spin-ladder system, in which antiferromagnetic exchange interactions act on the nearest-neighbor and next-nearestneighbor bonds in the leg direction, and on the nearest-neighbor bonds in the rung direction. A dynamical spin correlation function at zero temperature is calculated by using the dynamical density-matrix renormalization-group method for possible magnetic phases, i.e., columnar-dimer and rung-singlet phases. The columnar-dimer phase is characterized by multi-spinon excitations with spin gap, while the rung-single…
We present a reentrant phase transition in a bridging model between two different topological models: Kitaev and Haldane chains. This model is activated by introducing a bond alternation into the Kitaev chain [A. Yu Kitaev, Phys.-Usp. {\bf 44} 131 (2001)]. Without the bond alternation, finite pairing potential induces a topological state defined by zero-energy Majorana edge mode, while finite bond alternation without the pairing potential makes a different topological state similar to the Haldane state, which is defined by local Berry phase in the bulk. The topologically-ordered state correspo…
Materials that realize Kitaev spin models with bond-dependent anisotropic interactions have long been searched for, as the resulting frustration effects are predicted to stabilize novel forms of magnetic order or quantum spin liquids. Here we explore the magnetism of $γ$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$, which has the topology of a 3D Kitaev lattice of inter-connected Ir honeycombs. Using resonant magnetic x-ray diffraction we find a complex, yet highly-symmetric incommensurate magnetic structure with non-coplanar and counter-rotating Ir moments. We propose a minimal Kitaev-Heisenberg Hamiltonian that naturally …
The honeycomb $K-Γ$ model is known to have both deconfined spin liquid and confined phases. We study here a confinement transition between the Kitaev spin liquid and a dimerized phase in the limit of strong bond anisotropy. By partially projecting out Majorana states we are able to map the model onto a model of weakly coupled Ising chains in a transverse field. Within this mapping the ordered Ising phase corresponds to the condensation of $Z_2$ fluxes, or confinement. Our results may improve our understanding of the extensively studied spin liquid candidate material $α$-RuCl$_3$, where $K-Γ$ i…
Cubic crystal structure and regular octahedral environment of Ir$^{4+}$ render antifluorite-type K$_2$IrCl$_6$ a model fcc antiferromagnet with a combination of Heisenberg and Kitaev exchange interactions. High-resolution synchrotron powder diffraction confirms cubic symmetry down to at least 20 K, with a low-energy rotary mode gradually suppressed upon cooling. Using thermodynamic and transport measurements, we estimate the activation energy of $Δ\simeq 0.7$ eV for charge transport, the antiferromagnetic Curie-Weiss temperature of $θ_{\rm CW}\simeq -43$ K, and the extrapolated saturation fiel…
We review the consequences of intrinsic frustration of the orbital superexchange and of spin-orbital entanglement. While Heisenberg perturbing interactions remove frustration in the compass model, the lowest columnar excitations are robust in the nanoscopic compass clusters and might be used for quantum computations. Entangled spin-orbital states determine the ground states in some cases, while in others concern excited states and lead to measurable consequences, as in the $R$VO$_3$ perovskites. On-site entanglement for strong spin-orbit coupling generates the frustrated Kitaev-Heisenberg mode…
H3LiIr2O6 is the first honeycomb-lattice system without any signs of long-range magnetic order down to the lowest temperatures, raising the hope for the realization of an ideal Kitaev quantum spin liquid. Its honeycomb layers are coupled by interlayer hydrogen bonds. Static or dynamic disorder of these hydrogen bonds was proposed to strongly affect the magnetic exchange and to make Kitaev-type interactions dominant. Using dielectric spectroscopy, here we provide experimental evidence for dipolar relaxations in H3LiIr2O6 and deuterated D3LiIr2O6, which mirror the dynamics of protons and deutero…
We report the existence of a phase transition at high temperature in the 3D Kitaev candidate material, $β$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$. We show that the transition is bulk, intrinsic and orders a tiny magnetic moment with a spatially anisotropic saturation moment. We show that even though this transition is global, it does not freeze the local Ir moments, which order at much lower temperatures into an incommensurate state. Rather, the ordered moment has an orbital origin that is coupled to spin correlations, likely of a Kitaev origin. The separate ordering of spin-correlated orbital moments and of local Ir …
One-dimensional gapped phases that avoid any symmetry breaking have drawn enduring attention. In this paper, we study such phases in a bond-alternating spin-1 $K$-$Γ$ chain built of a Kitaev ($K$) interaction and an off-diagonal $Γ$ term. In the case of isotropic bond strength, a Haldane phase, which resembles the ground state of a spin-$1$ Heisenberg chain, is identified in a wide region. A gapped Kitaev phase situated at dominant ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic Kitaev limits is also found. The Kitaev phase has extremely short-range spin correlations and is characterized by finite $\mathb…
Geometrically frustrated quantum impurities coupled to metallic leads have been shown to exhibit rich behavior with a quantum phase transition separating Kondo screened and local moment phases. Frustration in the quantum impurity can alternatively be introduced via Kitaev-couplings between different spins of the impurity cluster. We use the Numerical Renormalization Group (NRG) to study a range of systems where the quantum impurity comprising a Kitaev cluster is coupled to a bath of non-interacting fermions. The models exhibits a competition between Kitaev and Kondo dominated physics depending…
121/123Sb nuclear quadrupole resonance and muon spin relaxation experiments of Mo3Sb7 revealed symmetry breakdown to a nonmagnetic state below the transition recently found at TS=50 K. The transition is characterized by a distinct lattice dynamics suggested from narrowing of nuclear fields. We point out that the Mo sublatice is a unique three-dimensional frustrated lattice where nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor antiferromagnetic interactions compete, and propose that tetragonal distortion to release the frustration stabilizes long-range order of spin-singlet dimers, i.e., valence bon…
We study the frustration-induced enhancement of the incommensurate correlation for a bond-alternating quantum spin chain in a magnetic field, which is associated with a quasi-one-dimensional organic compound F5PNN. We investigate the temperature dependence of the staggered susceptibilities by using the density matrix renormalization group, and then find that the incommensurate correlation becomes dominant in a certain range of the magnetic field. We also discuss the mechanism of this enhancement on the basis of the mapping to the effective S=1/2 XXZ chain and a possibility of the field-induced…
The key to unraveling intriguing phenomena observed in various Kitaev materials lies in understanding the interplay of Kitaev ($K$) interaction and a symmetric off-diagonal $Γ$ interaction. To provide insight into the challenging problems, we study the quantum phase diagram of a bond-alternating spin-$1/2$ $g_x$-$g_y$ $K$-$Γ$ chain by density-matrix renormalization group method where $g_x$ and $g_y$ are the bond strengths of the odd and even bonds, respectively. The phase diagram is dominated by even-Haldane ($g_x > g_y$) and odd-Haldane ($g_x < g_y$) phases where the former is topologically t…
Compounds of transition metal ions with strong spin-orbit coupling recently attracted attention due to the possibility to host frustrated bond-dependent anisotropic magnetic interactions. In general, such interactions lead to complex phase diagrams that may include exotic phases, e.g. the Kitaev spin liquid. Here we report on our comprehensive analysis of the global phase diagram of the extended Kitaev-Heisenberg model relevant to honeycomb lattice compounds Na2IrO3 and alpha-RuCl3. We have utilized recently developed method based on spin coherent states that enabled us to resolve arbitrary sp…
The appearance of half-quantized thermal Hall conductivity in $α$-RuCl$_3$ in the presence of in-plane magnetic fields has been taken as a strong evidence for Kitaev spin liquid. Apart from the quantization, the observed sign structure of the thermal Hall conductivity is also consistent with predictions from the exact solution of the Kitaev model. Namely, the thermal Hall conductivity changes sign when the field direction is reversed with respect to the heat current, which is perpendicular to one of the three nearest neighbor bonds on the honeycomb lattice. On the other hand, it is almost zero…
We study exactly both the ground-state fidelity susceptibility and bond-bond correlation function in the Kitaev honeycomb model. Our results show that the fidelity susceptibility can be used to identify the topological phase transition from a gapped A phase with Abelian anyon excitations to a gapless B phase with non-Abelian anyon excitations. We also find that the bond-bond correlation function decays exponentially in the gapped phase, but algebraically in the gapless phase. For the former case, the correlation length is found to be $1/ξ=2\sinh^{-1}[\sqrt{2J_z -1}/(1-J_z)]$, which diverges ar…
Kitaev quantum spin liquid, massively quantum entangled states, is so scarce in nature that searching for new candidate systems remains a great challenge. Honeycomb heterostructure could be a promising route to realize and utilize such an exotic quantum phase by providing additional controllability of Hamiltonian and device compatibility, respectively. Here, we provide epitaxial honeycomb oxide thin film Na3Co2SbO6, a candidate of Kitaev quantum spin liquid proposed recently. We found a spin glass and antiferromagnetic ground states depending on Na stoichiometry, signifying not only the import…
We provide a negative-sign-free formulation of the auxiliary field quantum Monte Carlo algorithm for generalized Kitaev models with higher symmetries. Our formulation is based on the Abrikosov fermion representation of the spin-1/2 degree of freedom and the phase pinning approach [Phys. Rev. B 104, L081106 (2021)]. Enhancing the number of fermion flavors or orbitals from one to $N$ allows one to generalize the inherent $Z_2$ global symmetry to Z$_2$$\times$SU($N$)$_o$. Using this general approach, we study the Z$_2$$\times$SU(2)$_o$ Kitaev-Heisenberg model reflecting the competition between th…
Layered honeycomb magnets are of interest as potential realizations of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid (KQSL), a quantum state with long-range spin entanglement and an exactly solvable Hamiltonian. Conventional magnetically ordered states are present for all currently known candidate materials, however, because non-Kitaev terms in the Hamiltonians obscure the Kitaev physics. Current experimental studies of the KQSL are focused on 4d- or 5d-transition-metal-based honeycombs, in which strong spin-orbit coupling can be expected, yielding Kitaev interaction that dominate in an applied magnetic fiel…
Sizable Ligand-Mediated Bond-Dependent Interactions in a Spin-1 Triangular Antiferromagnet NiI$_2$
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and School of Physics, Nanjing University（南京大学固体微结构物理实验室和物理学院）；Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences (Ministry of Education), Institute of Computational Physical Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Department of Physics, Fudan University（复旦大学计算物理科学教育部重点实验室、计算物理科学研究院、表面物理国家重点大学和物理系）
Using exact numerical diagonalization and the conformal field theory approach, we study the effect of magnetic frustrations due to diagonal exchange bonds in a system of two coupled mixed-spin $(1,{1/2})$ Heisenberg chains. It is established that relatively moderate frustrations are able to destroy the ferrimagnetic state and to stabilize the critical spin-liquid phase typical for half-integer-spin antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains. Both phases are separated by a narrow but finite region occupied by a critical partially-polarized ferromagnetic phase.
We explore the response of Ir $5d$ orbitals to pressure in $β$-$\mathrm{Li_2IrO_3}$, a hyperhoneycomb iridate in proximity to a Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL) ground state. X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals a reconstruction of the electronic ground state below 2 GPa, the same pressure range where x-ray magnetic circular dichroism shows an apparent collapse of magnetic order. The electronic reconstruction, which manifests a reduction in the effective spin-orbit (SO) interaction in $5d$ orbitals, pushes $β$-$\mathrm{Li_2IrO_3}$ further away from the pure $J_{\rm eff}=1/2$ limit. Although l…
We study the spin-one Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice in the presence of single-ion anisotropies. We consider two types of single ion anisotropies: A $D_{111}$ anisotropy which preserves the symmetry between $X$, $Y$, and $Z$ bonds but violates flux conservation and a $D_{100}$ anisotropy that breaks the symmetry between $X$, $Y$, and $Z$ bonds but preserves flux conservation. We use series expansion methods, degenerate perturbation theory, and exact diagonalization to study these systems. Large positive $D_{111}$ anisotropy leads to a simple product ground state with conventional magnon…
We study the Kitaev spin-$1/2$ ladder, a model which exhibits self-localization due to fractionalization caused by exchange frustration. When a weak magnetic field is applied, the model is described by an effective fermionic Hamiltonian, with an additional time reversal symmetry breaking term. We show that this term alone is not capable of delocalizing the system but flux mobility is a prerequisite. For magnetic fields larger but comparable to the flux gap, fluxes become mobile and drive the system into a delocalized regime, featuring finite dc transport coefficients. Our findings are based on…
The unconventional magnetic orderings found in Kitaev spin liquid candidates suggest frustration of spin interactions, and raise a possibility of nearby spin liquid phases. In particular, counter-rotating spiral ordering in three-dimensional (3D) iridates is striking, and understanding the microscopic mechanism of such ordering may provide routes to 3D Kitaev spin liquids. We study a minimal 3D model including Kitaev $K$ and a symmetric off-diagonal bond-dependent $Γ$ interaction on the hyperhoneycomb lattice using exact diagonalization. We first show that a 12-site unitary transformation unve…
Magnetic moments arranged at the corners of a honeycomb lattice are predicted to form a novel state of matter, Kitaev quantum spin liquid, under the influence of frustration effects between bond-dependent Ising interactions. Some layered honeycomb iridates and related materials, such as Na$_{2}$IrO$_{3}$ and $α$-RuCl$_{3}$, are proximate to Kitaev quantum spin liquid, but bosonic spin-wave excitations associated with undesirable antiferromagnetic long-range order mask the inherent properties of Kitaev Hamiltonian. Here, we use $^{63}$Cu nuclear quadrupole resonance to uncover the low energy sp…
The current efforts to find the materials hosting Kitaev model physics have been focused on Mott insulators of d^5 pseudospin-1/2 ions Ir^{4+} and Ru^{3+} with t_{2g}^5(S=1/2, L=1) electronic configuration. Here we propose that the Kitaev model can be realized in materials based on d^7 ions with t_{2g}^5e_g^2(S=3/2, L=1) configuration such as Co^{2+}, which also host the pseudospin-1/2 magnetism. Considering possible exchange processes, we have derived the d^7 pseudospin-1/2 interactions in 90^{\circ} bonding geometry. The obtained Hamiltonian comprises the bond-directional Kitaev K and isotro…
We discuss the finite-temperature phase diagram of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model on the hexagonal lattice, which has been suggested to describe the spin-orbital exchange of the effective spin-1/2 momenta in the Mott insulating Iridate Na2IrO3. At zero-temperature this model exhibits magnetically ordered states well beyond the isotropic Heisenberg limit as well as an extended gapless spin liquid phase around the highly anisotropic Kitaev limit. Using a pseudofermion functional renormalization group (RG) approach, we extract both the Curie-Weiss scale and the critical ordering scale (for the magne…
Kitaev's compass model on the honeycomb lattice realizes a spin liquid whose emergent excitations are dispersive Majorana fermions and static Z_2 gauge fluxes. We discuss the proper selection of physical states for finite-size simulations in the Majorana representation, based on a recent paper by Pedrocchi, Chesi, and Loss [Phys. Rev. B 84, 165414 (2011)]. Certain physical observables acquire large finite-size effects, in particular if the ground state is not fermion-free, which we prove to generally apply to the system in the gapless phase and with periodic boundary conditions. To illustrate …
