Hyper-honeycomb iridate $\beta$-Li2IrO3 as a platform for Kitaev magnetism

Abstract

The realization of Kitaev spin liquid, where spins on a honeycomb lattice are coupled ferromagnetically by bond-dependent anisotropic interactions, has been a sought-after dream. 5d iridium oxides $\alpha$-Li2IrO3 and $\alpha$-Na2IrO3 with a honeycomb lattice of Jeff = 1/2 moments recently emerged as a possible materialization. Strong signature of Kitaev physics, however, was not captured. Here we report the discovery of a complex iridium oxide $\beta$-Li2IrO3 with Jeff = 1/2 moments on "hyper-honeycomb" lattice, a three-dimensional analogue of honeycomb lattice. A positive Curie-Weiss temperature ${\theta }_{CW}$ ~ 40 K indicated dominant ferromagnetic interactions among Jeff = 1/2 moments in $\beta$-Li2IrO3. A magnetic ordering with a small entropy change was observed at Tc = 38 K, which, with the application of magnetic field of only 3 T, changed to a fully polarized state of Jeff = 1/2 moments. Those results imply that hyper-honeycomb beta-Li2IrO3 is located in the vicinity to a Kitaev spin liquid.

References in corpus (8)

• Mott Insulators in the Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling Limit: From Heisenberg to a Quantum Compass and Kitaev Models
• On the Origin of Zigzag Magnetic Order in Iridium Oxide Na2IrO3
• Quantum spin Hall effect in a transition metal oxide Na2IrO3
• Long range magnetic ordering in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• The magnetic and crystal structures of Sr2IrO4: A neutron diffraction study
• Unconventional magnetic order on the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev lattice in $\beta$-Li2IrO3: full solution via magnetic resonant x-ray diffraction
• Robustness of basal-plane antiferromagnetic order and the $J_{eff}=1/2$ state in single-layer iridate spin-orbit Mott insulators
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Cited by in corpus (36)

• Models and Materials for Generalized Kitaev Magnetism
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• Raman spectroscopic signature of fractionalized excitations in the harmonic-honeycomb iridates $\beta$- and $\gamma$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Weyl spin liquids
• Field-induced magnetic transition and spin fluctuation in quantum spin liquid candidate CsYbSe${}_2$
• Magnetic order in single crystals of Na3Co2SbO6 with a honeycomb arrangement of 3d${}^7$ Co${}^{2+}$ ions
• Unconventional spin dynamics in the honeycomb-lattice material $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$: high-field ESR studies
• Unified theory of spiral magnetism in the harmonic-honeycomb iridates α, β, γ Li2IrO3
• Kitaev materials beyond iridates: order by quantum disorder and Weyl magnons in rare-earth double perovskites
• Kitaev-like honeycomb magnets: Global phase behavior and emergent effective models
• Topological spinon semimetals and gapless boundary states in three dimensions
• Ground state and low-energy excitations of the Kitaev-Heisenberg ladder
• Revisiting the Kitaev material candidacy of Ir4+ double perovskite iridates
• Synthesis, magnetization and heat capacity of triangular lattice materials NaErSe${}_2$ and KErSe${}_2$
• Crystalline Kitaev spin liquids
• Thermal transport in a two-dimensional ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ spin liquid
• Temperature evolution of spin dynamics in two- and three-dimensional Kitaev models: Influence of fluctuating gauge fluxes
• Revealing frustrated local moment model for pressurized hyperhoneycomb iridate: paving a way toward quantum spin liquid
• Symmetry Enrichment in Three-Dimensional Topological Phases
• Multiferroicity in spin ice: towards a magnetic crystallography of Tb2Ti2O7 in a field
• High-resolution resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study of the electron-phonon coupling in honeycomb $\alpha$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Probing spinon nodal structures in three-dimensional Kitaev spin liquids
• Putative spin liquid in the triangle-based iridate Ba${}_3$IrTi${}_2$O${}_9$
• Possible quantum paramagnetism in compressed Sr${}_2$IrO${}_4$
• Unconventional magnetism in the 4d${}^4$ based ($S=1$) honeycomb system Ag${}_3$LiRu${}_2$O${}_6$
• Possibility to realize spin-orbit-induced correlated physics in iridium fluorides
• Non-Kitaev spin liquids in Kitaev materials
• Upper branch magnetism in quantum magnets: Collapses of excited levels and emergent selection rules
• Electronic excitations in $\gamma$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Unconventional magnetic field response of the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev magnet $\beta -{\text{Li}}_2{\text{IrO}}_3$
• Thermal conductivity of local moment models with strong spin-orbit coupling
• Magnetic Transitions in the Chiral Armchair-Kagome System Mn${}_2$Sb${}_2$O${}_7$
• Bound states of fractionalized excitations in a modulated Kitaev spin liquid
• From chiral d-wave to nodal line superconductivity in the harmonic honeycomb lattices
• Minimal models of $\alpha$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$: On the range of the interactions, ground state properties, and magnetization processes