Gapless Spin Excitations in the Field-Induced Quantum Spin Liquid Phase of alpha-RuCl3

Abstract

$\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ is a leading candidate material for theobservation of physics related to the Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL). By combined susceptibility, specific-heat, and nuclear-magnetic-resonance measurements, we demonstrate that $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ undergoes a quantum phase transition to a QSL in a magnetic field of 7.5 T applied in the $ab$ plane. We show further that this high-field QSL phase has gapless spin excitations over a field range up to 16 T. This highly unconventional result, unknown in either Heisenberg or Kitaev magnets, offers insight essential to establishing the physics of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$.

6 pages, 4 figures. 1 supplemental materials upon request or available in PRL journal website

References in corpus (50)

• Fault-tolerant quantum computation by anyons
• Non-Abelian Anyons and Topological Quantum Computation
• Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond
• Mott Insulators in the Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling Limit: From Heisenberg to a Quantum Compass and Kitaev Models
• Magnetic Pyrochlore Oxides
• Fractionalized excitations in the spin liquid state of a kagomé lattice antiferromagnet
• Spin Liquid State in an Organic Mott Insulator with Triangular Lattice
• Kitaev-Heisenberg Model on Honeycomb Lattice: Possible Exotic Phases in Iridium Oxides $A_2$IrO${}_3$
• Proximate Kitaev Quantum Spin Liquid Behaviour in α-RuCl${}_3$
• $\alpha$-RuCl3: a Spin-Orbit Assisted Mott Insulator on a Honeycomb Lattice
• Relevance of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model for the honeycomb lattice iridates A_2IrO_3
• Spin-Orbit Physics Giving Rise to Novel Phases in Correlated Systems: Iridates and Related Materials
• Neutron tomography of magnetic Majorana fermions in a proximate quantum spin liquid
• Generic spin model for the honeycomb iridates beyond the Kitaev limit
• Spin waves and revised crystal structure of honeycomb iridate Na2IrO3
• On the Origin of Zigzag Magnetic Order in Iridium Oxide Na2IrO3
• Challenges in Design of Kitaev Materials: Magnetic Interactions from Competing Energy Scales
• The monoclinic crystal structure of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ and the zigzag antiferromagnetic ground state
• Scattering Continuum and Possible Fractionalized Excitations in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Magnetic order in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$: a honeycomb lattice quantum magnet with strong spin-orbit coupling
• Exact results for spin dynamics and fractionization in the Kitaev Model
• Low-temperature crystal and magnetic structure of $\alpha$-RuCl3
• Direct evidence of a zigzag spin chain structure in the honeycomb lattice: A neutron and x-ray diffraction investigation on single crystal $\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{a}}_2\mathrm{Ir}{\mathrm{O}}_3$
• Evidence for a Field-induced Quantum Spin Liquid in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Dynamics of a two-dimensional quantum spin liquid: signatures of emergent Majorana fermions and fluxes
• Successive magnetic phase transitions in $\mathbf{\alpha }$-RuCl${}_3$: XY-like frustrated magnet on the honeycomb lattice
• Kitaev magnetism in honeycomb RuCl3 with intermediate spin-orbit coupling
• Fermionic response from fractionalization in an insulating two-dimensional magnet
• Spin-orbit excitation energies, anisotropic exchange, and magnetic phases of honeycomb RuCl3
• Observation of extended scattering continua characteristic of spin fractionalization in the 2D frustrated quantum magnet Cs2CuCl4 by neutron scattering
• Crystal structure and magnetism in $\alpha$-RuCl3: an ab-initio study
• Crystal field splitting and correlation effect on the electronic structure of A2IrO3
• Spin-wave excitations evidencing the Kitaev interaction in single crystalline $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• First-Principles Study of the Honeycomb-Lattice Iridates Na2IrO3 in the Presence of Strong Spin-Orbit Interaction and Electron Correlations
• Anomalous thermal conductivity and magnetic torque response in the honeycomb magnet $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Ab initio analysis of the tight-binding parameters and magnetic interactions in Na2IrO3
• Na2IrO3 as a molecular orbital crystal
• Kitaev-Heisenberg-J2-J3 model for the iridates A2IrO3
• Spin-orbit excitations and electronic structure of the putative Kitaev magnet $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Dynamics of Fractionalization in Quantum Spin Liquids
• Honeycomb-lattice Heisenberg-Kitaev model in a magnetic field: Spin canting, metamagnetism, and vortex crystals
• Cascade of magnetic-field-induced quantum phase transitions in a spin $1/2$ triangular-lattice antiferromagnet
• Magnetic anisotropy in the Kitaev model systems Na2IrO3 and RuCl3
• Theoretical investigation of the magnetic dynamics in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Importance of anisotropic exchange interactions in honeycomb iridates. Minimal model for zigzag antiferromagnetic order in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Low-energy Spin Dynamics of the Honeycomb Spin Liquid Beyond the Kitaev Limit
• J${}_{eff}$ description of the honeycomb Mott insulator $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Selection of direction of the ordered moments in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$ and $\alpha -$RuCl${}_3$
• $J_{eff}=1/2$ Mott Insulating State in Rh and Ir Fluorides
• Unusual hyperfine interaction of Dirac electrons and NMR spectroscopy in graphene

Cited by in corpus (170)

• Kitaev quantum spin liquid - concept and materialization
• Excitations in the field-induced quantum spin liquid state of alpha-RuCl3
• Hunting Majorana Fermions in Kitaev Magnets
• Orbital effects in solids: basics, recent progress and opportunities
• Robustness of the thermal Hall effect close to half-quantization in a field-induced spin liquid state
• Possible Kitaev Quantum Spin Liquid State in 2D Materials with S=3/2
• Field-induced quantum spin disordered state in spin-1/2 honeycomb magnet Na2Co2TeO6
• Microscopic mechanism for higher-spin Kitaev model
• Probing $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ Beyond Magnetic Order: Effects of Temperature and Magnetic Field
• Observation of two types of anyons in the Kitaev honeycomb magnet
• Weak-field induced nonmagnetic state in a Co-based honeycomb
• Theory of the field-revealed Kitaev spin liquid
• Quantum spin liquid signatures in Kitaev-like frustrated magnets
• Finite field regime for a quantum spin liquid in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Antiferromagnetic Kitaev interaction in $J_\rm{eff}=1/2$ cobalt honeycomb materials Na${}_3$Co${}_2$SbO${}_6$ and Na${}_2$Co${}_2$TeO${}_6$
• Dynamical and Topological Properties of the Kitaev Model in a [111] Magnetic Field
• Heisenberg-Kitaev physics in magnetic fields
• Ferrimagnetism and anisotropic phase tunability by magnetic fields in Na${}_2$Co${}_2$TeO${}_6$
• Possible star-of-David pattern charge density wave with additional modulation in the kagome superconductor CsV${}_3$Sb${}_5$
• Evidence for charge transfer and proximate magnetism in graphene/a-RuCl_3 heterostructures
• One Proximate Kitaev Spin Liquid in the $K$-$J$-$\Gamma$ Model on the Honeycomb Lattice
• Ultralow-temperature thermal conductivity of the Kitaev honeycomb magnet $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ across the field-induced phase transition
• Magnetic order in single crystals of Na3Co2SbO6 with a honeycomb arrangement of 3d${}^7$ Co${}^{2+}$ ions
• Thermodynamic evidence of fractionalized excitations in α-RuCl3
• Dynamical and thermal magnetic properties of the Kitaev spin liquid candidate $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Field-induced intermediate ordered phase and anisotropic interlayer interactions in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Geometrical frustration versus Kitaev interactions in BaCo${}_2$(AsO${}_4$)${}_2$
• Successive Majorana Topological Transitions Driven by a Magnetic Field in the Kitaev Model
• High-Field Quantum Disordered State in $\alpha$-RuCl3: Spin Flips, Bound States, and a Multi-Particle Continuum
• Magnetic Anisotropy in Spin-3/2 with Heavy Ligand in Honeycomb Mott Insulators: Application to CrI${}_3$
• Identification of Magnetic Interactions and High-field Quantum Spin Liquid in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• A magnetic continuum observed by terahertz spectroscopy in a quantum spin liquid candidate BaCo${}_2$(AsO${}_4$)${}_2$
• Field evolution of magnons in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ by high-resolution polarized terahertz spectroscopy
• Magnetic ground state of the Kitaev Na${}_2$Co${}_2$TeO${}_6$ spin liquid candidate
• The range of non-Kitaev terms and fractional particles in RuCl${}_3$
• A Néel-type antiferromagnetic order in the spin 1/2 rare-earth honeycomb YbCl${}_3$
• $\text{Ab Initio}$ Mismatched Interface Theory of Graphene on $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$: Doping and Magnetism
• Dirac and Chiral Quantum Spin Liquids on the Honeycomb Lattice in a Magnetic Field
• Pressure-induced melting of magnetic order and emergence of new quantum state in alpha-RuCl3
• Impact of off-diagonal exchange interactions on the Kitaev spin liquid state of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Signatures of low-energy fractionalized excitations in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ from field-dependent microwave absorption
• Giant magnetic in-plane anisotropy and competing instabilities in Na3Co2SbO6
• Thermodynamic and Transport Properties in Disordered Kitaev Models
• From Claringbullite to a new spin liquid candidate Cu${}_3$Zn(OH)${}_6$FCl
• Intermediate gapless phase and topological phase transition of Kitaev model in a uniform magnetic field
• Field-induced quantum spin liquid in the Kitaev-Heisenberg model and its relation to $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• The Heart of Entanglement: Chiral, Nematic, and Incommensurate Phases in the Kitaev-Gamma Ladder in a Field
• Scale-invariant magnetic anisotropy in RuCl${}_3$ at high magnetic fields
• Raman evidence for dimerization and Mott collapse in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ under pressures
• Magnetic structure and excitation spectrum of the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev magnet $\beta$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Phase diagram of the spin-1/2 Kitaev-Gamma chain and emergent SU(2) symmetry
• Signatures of magnetic-field-driven quantum phase transitions in the entanglement entropy and spin dynamics of the Kitaev honeycomb model
• Unveiling the S=3/2 Kitaev Honeycomb Spin Liquids
• Phonon renormalization in the Kitaev quantum spin liquid
• Kitaev honeycomb models in magnetic fields: Dynamical response and hidden symmetries
• Giant thermal magnetoconductivity in CrCl${}_3$ and a general model for spin-phonon scattering
• Spin excitations of a proximate Kitaev quantum spin liquid realized in Cu${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Pressure-induced collapse of spin-orbital Mott state in the hyperhoneycomb iridate $\beta$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Two-step gap opening across the quantum critical point in a Kitaev honeycomb magnet
• Field induced magnon excitation and in gap absorption of Kitaev candidate RuCl3
• Magnetic field-induced evolution of intertwined orders in the Kitaev magnet $\beta$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Magnon dispersion and dynamic spin response in three-dimensional spin models for $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Gapless quantum spin liquid in a honeycomb $\Gamma$ magnet
• Comprehensive study of the phase diagram of the spin-1/2 Kitaev-Heisenberg-Gamma chain
• Controlling the magnetic state of the proximate quantum spin liquid $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ with an optical cavity
• Magnetic anisotropy of the alkali iridate Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$ at high magnetic fields: evidence for strong ferromagnetic Kitaev correlations
• Quantum spin liquid phase in the Shastry-Sutherland model detected by an improved level spectroscopic method
• Kitaev Quantum Spin Liquids
• Anisotropic exchange coupling and ground state phase diagram of Kitaev compound YbOCl
• Local-Ising type magnetic order and metamagnetism in the rare-earth pyrogermanate Er${}_2$Ge${}_2$O${}_7$
• Universal Thermodynamics in the Kitaev Fractional Liquid
• Dynamics of Compact Quantum Electrodynamics at Large Fermion Flavor
• Quantum and classical behavior of spin-$S$ Kitaev models in an anisotropic limit
• Extraction of the interaction parameters for $\alpha -$RuCl${}_3$ from neutron data using machine learning
• On the saw-tooth torque in anisotropic $j_{\mathrm{eff}}=1/2$ magnets: Application to $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• High-field thermal transport properties of the Kitaev quantum magnet alpha-RuCl3: evidence for low-energy excitations beyond the critical field
• NMR study of the spin excitations in the frustrated antiferromagnet Yb(BaBO${}_3$)${}_3$ with a triangular lattice
• Majorana-Magnon Crossover by a Magnetic Field in the Kitaev Model: Continuous-Time Quantum Monte Carlo Study
• Classical spin order near antiferromagnetic Kitaev point in the spin-1/2 Kitaev-Gamma chain
• Vison-Majorana complex zero-energy resonance in Kitaev's spin liquid
• Tuning topological orders by a conical magnetic field in the Kitaev model
• Possible Intermediate Quantum Spin Liquid Phase in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ under High Magnetic Fields up to 100 T
• Multinode quantum spin liquids on the honeycomb lattice
• Pressure-induced structural dimerization in the hyperhoneycomb iridate $\beta$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$ at low temperatures
• Bond ordering and phase transitions in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$ under high pressure
• Plaquette order in classical spin liquid stabilized by strong off-diagonal exchange
• Continuum of spin excitations in an ordered magnet
• Heat transport in the anisotropic Kitaev spin liquid
• Identification of hidden order and emergent constraints in frustrated magnets using tensorial kernel methods
• Uniaxial and hydrostatic pressure effects in alpha-RuCl3 single crystals via thermal-expansion measurements
• Topological phase transition to Abelian anyon phases due to off-diagonal exchange interaction in the Kitaev spin liquid state
• NMR Investigation on Honeycomb Iridate Ag${}_3$LiIr${}_2$O${}_6$
• Phase diagram and quantum criticality of Heisenberg spin chains with Ising-like interchain couplings -- Implication to YbAlO${}_3$
• Recent progress on magnetic-field studies on quantum-spin-liquid candidates
• Field evolution of magnetic phases and spin dynamics in the honeycomb lattice magnet Na2Co2TeO6: 23Na NMR study
• Evidence for magnetic fractional excitations in a Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid candidate $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Local spin structure of the $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ honeycomb-lattice magnet observed via muon spin rotation/relaxation
• Testing Ising Topological Order in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ Under In-Plane Magnetic Fields
• Suppression of Antiferromagnetic Order by Strain in Honeycomb Cobaltate: Implication for Quantum Spin Liquid
• Field-induced phase transitions and quantum criticality in a honeycomb antiferromagnet Na3Co2SbO6
• Comparing the influence of Floquet dynamics in various Kitaev-Heisenberg materials
• Symmetry analysis of bond-alternating Kitaev spin chains and ladders
• Spin wave theory of one-dimensional generalized Kitaev model
• Fractionalization Signatures in the Dynamics of Quantum Spin Liquids
• Low temperature enhancement of ferromagnetic Kitaev correlations in α-RuCl3
• Proximate Kitaev system for an intermediate magnetic phase in in-plane magnetic fields
• Long-range and local crystal structures of the Sr1-xCaxRuO3 Perovskites
• Symmetry-protected gapless spin liquids on the strained honeycomb lattice
• Dissipationless Spin Current Generation in Kitaev's Chiral Spin Liquid
• Reentrant incommensurate order and anomalous magnetic torque in the Kitaev magnet $\beta$-${\text{Li}}_2{\text{IrO}}_3$
• Neutron spectroscopy evidence for a possible magnetic-field-induced gapless quantum-spin-liquid phase in a Kitaev material $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Ground State Magnetic Structure and Magnetic Field Effects in the Layered Honeycomb Antiferromagnet YbOCl
• Unconventional magnetic field response of the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev magnet $\beta -{\text{Li}}_2{\text{IrO}}_3$
• Pressure tuning of structure, magnetic frustration and carrier conduction in Kitaev spin liquid candidate Cu${}_2$IrO${}_3$: X-ray, Raman, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and first-principles analysis
• Differentiable programming tensor networks for Kitaev magnets
• Local evidence for collective spin excitations in the distorted kagome antiferromagnet Pr${}_3$BWO${}_9$
• Work statistics across a quantum critical surface
• Short-range order and hidden energy scale in geometrically frustrated magnets
• Asymmetric modulation of Majorana excitation spectra and nonreciprocal thermal transport in the Kitaev spin liquid under a staggered magnetic field
• Confinement transition in a Kitaev-like honeycomb model with bond anisotropy
• Emergent quantum Majorana metal from a chiral spin liquid
• Origin of nonsymmorphic bosonization formulas in generalized antiferromagnetic Kitaev spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ chains from a renormalization-group perspective
• Correlation effects on the magnetization process of the Kitaev model
• Strong tuning of magnetism and electronic structure by spin orientation
• Hydrostatic pressure effect on Co-based honeycomb magnet BaCo2(AsO4)2
• Interplay of magnetic field and trigonal distortion in the honeycomb $\Gamma$ model: Occurrence of a spin-flop phase
• Dielectric Evidence for Possible Type-II Multiferroicity in alpha-RuCl3
• Can the highly symmetric SU(4) spin-orbital model be realized in alpha-ZrCl3?
• Chiral spin state and nematic ferromagnet in the spin-1 Kitaev-$\Gamma$ model
• Multinode quantum spin liquids in extended Kitaev honeycomb models: the view from variational Monte Carlo
• Polarization-dependent magnetic properties of periodically driven $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Kinetic Ferromagnetism and Topological Magnons of the Hole-Doped Kitaev Spin Liquid
• Electric field control of a quantum spin liquid in weak Mott insulators
• Dimerization in honeycomb Na2RuO3 under pressure: a DFT study
• Gapless excitations in non-Abelian Kitaev spin liquids with line defects
• High Chern numbers and topological flat bands in high-field polarized Kitaev magnets on the star lattice
• Successive topological phase transitions in two distinct spin-flop phases on the honeycomb lattice
• Nonsymmorphic bosonization in one-dimensional generalized Kitaev spin-1/2 models
• Emergent SU(2)${}_1$ conformal symmetry in the spin-1/2 Kitaev-Gamma chain with a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction
• Giant anisotropic magnetoresistance in few-layer α-RuCl3 tunnel junctions
• Dynamic structure factor of the antiferromagnetic Kitaev model in large magnetic fields
• From linear to circular polarized light -- Floquet engineering in Kitaev-Heisenberg materials with Lissajous figures
• Widely Spaced Planes of Magnetic Dimers in the Ba6Y2Rh2Ti2O17-δ Hexagonal Perovskite
• High-field quantum spin liquid transitions and angle-field phase diagram of Kitaev magnet $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Impact of disorder on dynamics and ordering in the honeycomb lattice iridate Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Response and phase transition of a Kitaev spin liquid in a local magnetic field
• Interplay of Kitaev Interaction and Off-diagonal Exchanges: Exotic Phases and Quantum Phase Diagrams
• Quantized thermal Hall conductance from edge current calculations in lattice models
• Signatures of a gapless quantum spin liquid in the Kitaev material Na${}_3$Co${}_{2-x}$Zn${}_x$SbO${}_6$
• Effective Model for Rare-earth Kitaev Materials and its Classical Monte Carlo Simulation
• Intermediate phases in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ under in-plane magnetic field via interlayer spin interactions
• Gapless spinon excitations emerging from a multipolar transverse field in the triangular-lattice Ising antiferromagnet NaTmSe2
• Sweet spot in the RuCl${}_3$ magnetic system: nearly ideal $j_{\mathrm{eff}}=1/2$ moments and maximized $K/J$ ratio under pressure
• The ground state in a proximity to a possible Kitaev spin liquid: An undistorted honeycomb iridate NaxIrO3 (0.60 < x < 0.80)
• Phase diagram for Hole-Doped Kitaev System on the Honeycomb Lattice
• Finite-momentum energy dynamics in a Kitaev magnet
• Low-energy spin dynamics in a Kitaev material Na3Ni2BiO6 investigated by NMR
• A quantum Monte Carlo method on asymptotic Lefschetz thimbles for quantum spin systems: An application to the Kitaev model in a magnetic field
• Topological Aspects of Antiferromagnets
• Magnetodielectric Properties in Two Dimensional Magnetic Insulators
• Bond disorder in extended Heisenberg-Kitaev models: Spin textures and in-gap states in the high-field regime
• Chiral spin liquid in a generalized Kitaev honeycomb model with ${\mathbb{Z}}_4$ 1-form symmetry
• Using magnetic dynamics to measure the spin gap in a candidate Kitaev material
• Spin disorder state induced by Mg${}^{2+}$ doping in a Kitaev material Na${}_3$Co${}_2$SbO${}_6$
• Ground state of the staggered Heisenberg-$\Gamma$ honeycomb model in a magnetic field
• Nesting instability of gapless U(1) spin liquids with spinon Fermi pockets in two dimensions
• Absence of magnetic order and magnetic fluctuations in RuO${}_2$
• The field-angle anisotropy of proximate Kitaev systems under an in-plane magnetic field
• Dominant Kitaev Interaction and Field-induced Quantum Disordered Phase in the Cobaltate Na${}_2$Co${}_2$TeO${}_6$
• Direct Evidence for Fermi Statistics from Proximity to the Kitaev Spin Liquid in RuCl3