Edge magnetization and spin transport in an SU(2)-symmetric Kitaev spin liquid

Abstract

We investigate the edge magnetism and the spin transport properties of an SU(2)-symmetric Kitaev spin liquid (KSL) model put forward by Yao and Lee [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{107}, 087205 (2011)] on the honeycomb lattice. In this model, the spin degrees of freedom fractionalize into a ${\mathbb{Z}}_2$ static gauge field and three species of either gapless (Dirac) or gapped (chiral) Majorana fermionic excitations. We find that, when a magnetic field is applied to a zigzag edge, the Dirac KSL exhibits a nonlocal magnetization associated with the existence of zero-energy edge modes. The application of a spin bias $V={\mu }_{\uparrow }-{\mu }_{\downarrow }$ at the interface of the spin system with a normal metal produces a spin current into the KSL, which depends, in the zero-temperature limit, as a power-law on $V$ for both Dirac and chiral KSLs, but with different exponents. Lastly, we study the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect, in which a spin current is driven by the combined action of a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the honeycomb lattice and a thermal gradient at the interface of the KSL with a metal. Our results suggest that edge magnetization and spin transport can be used to probe the existence of charge-neutral edge states in quantum spin liquids.

13 pages, 7 figures