Pressure-tuned magnetic interactions in honeycomb Kitaev materials

Abstract

A range of honeycomb-lattice compounds has been proposed and investigated in the search for a topological Kitaev spin liquid. However, sizable Heisenberg interactions and additional symmetry-allowed exchange anisotropies in the magnetic Hamiltonian of these potential Kitaev materials push them away from the pure Kitaev spin-liquid state. Particularly the Kitaev-to-Heisenberg coupling ratio is essential in this respect. With the help of advanced quantum-chemistry methods, we explore how the magnetic coupling ratios depend on pressure in several honeycomb compounds (Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$, $\beta$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$, and $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$). We find that the Heisenberg and Kitaev terms are affected differently by uniform pressure or strain: the Kitaev component increases more rapidly than the Heisenberg counterpart. This provides a scenario where applying pressure or strain can stabilize a spin liquid in such materials.

6 pages, 2 figures

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Cited by in corpus (32)

• Dominant Kitaev interactions in the honeycomb materials Na${}_3$Co${}_2$SbO${}_6$ and Na${}_2$Co${}_2$TeO${}_6$
• Magnetic anisotropy reversal driven by structural symmetry-breaking in monolayer α-RuCl3
• Field-induced quantum spin liquid in the Kitaev-Heisenberg model and its relation to $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Magnetoelastic coupling and effects of uniaxial strain in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ from first principles
• Inducing Magnetic Phase Transitions in Monolayer CrI${}_3$ via Lattice Deformations
• Phonon renormalization in the Kitaev quantum spin liquid
• Kitaev honeycomb models in magnetic fields: Dynamical response and hidden symmetries
• Field-induced phase transitions of the Kitaev material $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ probed by thermal expansion and magnetostriction
• Pressure-induced collapse of spin-orbital Mott state in the hyperhoneycomb iridate $\beta$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Revealing the Phase Diagram of Kitaev Materials by Machine Learning: Cooperation and Competition between Spin Liquids
• Exotic Magnetic and Electronic Properties of Layered CrI3 Single Crystals Under High Pressure
• Kitaev magnetism through the prism of lithium iridate
• Optical signature of the pressure-induced dimerization in the honeycomb iridate $\alpha$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Emergent orbital magnetization in Kitaev quantum magnets
• Spin liquid in twisted homobilayers group-VI gichalcogenides
• Symmetry-protected gapless spin liquids on the strained honeycomb lattice
• Interplay of magnetism and dimerization in pressurized Kitaev material $\beta$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Large off diagonal exchange couplings and spin liquid states in ${\mathbf{C}}_3$ symmetric iridates
• Lattice dynamics and structural transition of the hyperhoneycomb iridate $\beta$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$ investigated by high-pressure Raman scattering
• 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
• Orbital Magnetic Field Effects in Mott Insulators with Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling
• Superexchange interactions between spin-orbit-coupled $j\approx 1/2$ ions in oxides with face-sharing ligand octahedra
• Ground-State Phase Diagram of the Kitaev-Heisenberg Model on a Three-dimensional Hyperhoneycomb Lattice
• Confinement transition in a Kitaev-like honeycomb model with bond anisotropy
• Hydrostatic pressure effect on Co-based honeycomb magnet BaCo2(AsO4)2
• Gapless excitations in non-Abelian Kitaev spin liquids with line defects
• Millikelvin-compatible apparatus for studies of quantum materials under uniaxial stress
• Pressure tuning of competing interactions on a honeycomb lattice
• Multipolar spin liquid in an exactly solvable model for $j_{\mathrm{eff}}=\frac{3}{2}$ moments
• Possible Realization of Kitaev Spin Liquids in van der Waals Heterostructures of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ and Cr$X_3$ ($X$=Cl and I)
• Quantum spin models of commensurate $p$-wave magnets
• Bond disorder in extended Heisenberg-Kitaev models: Spin textures and in-gap states in the high-field regime