Theory of the Kitaev model in a [111] magnetic field

Abstract

Recent numerical studies indicate that the antiferromagnetic Kitaev honeycomb lattice model undergoes a magnetic-field-induced quantum phase transition into a new spin-liquid phase. This intermediate-field phase has been previously characterized as a gapless spin liquid. By implementing a recently developed variational approach based on the exact fractionalized excitations of the zero-field model, we demonstrate that the field-induced spin liquid is gapped and belongs to Kitaev's 16-fold way. Specifically, the low-field non-Abelian liquid with Chern number $C=\pm 1$ transitions into an Abelian liquid with $C=\pm 4$. The critical field and the field-dependent behaviors of key physical quantities are in good quantitative agreement with published numerical results. Furthermore, we derive an effective field theory for the field-induced critical point which readily explains the ostensibly gapless nature of the intermediate-field spin liquid.

References in corpus (45)

• 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
• Kitaev-Heisenberg Model on Honeycomb Lattice: Possible Exotic Phases in Iridium Oxides $A_2$IrO${}_3$
• Majorana quantization and half-integer thermal quantum Hall effect in a Kitaev spin liquid
• Proximate Kitaev Quantum Spin Liquid Behaviour in α-RuCl${}_3$
• Kitaev quantum spin liquid - concept and materialization
• $\alpha$-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
• Spin waves and revised crystal structure of honeycomb iridate Na2IrO3
• 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
• Physics of the Kitaev model: fractionalization, dynamical correlations, and material connections
• 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${}_3$
• Excitations in the field-induced quantum spin liquid state of alpha-RuCl3
• Long range magnetic ordering in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Quasi-particle Statistics and Braiding from Ground State Entanglement
• Successive magnetic phase transitions in $\mathbf{\alpha }$-RuCl${}_3$: XY-like frustrated magnet on the honeycomb lattice
• Entanglement entropy and entanglement spectrum of the Kitaev model
• Phase Diagram of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ in an in-plane Magnetic Field
• Topological characterization of fractional quantum Hall ground states from microscopic Hamiltonians
• Na2IrO3 as a spin-orbit-assisted antiferromagnetic insulator with a 340 meV gap
• Characterizing topological order by studying the ground states of an infinite cylinder
• Anisotropic Ru3+ 4d5 magnetism in the alpha-RuCl3 honeycomb system: susceptibility, specific heat and Zero field NMR
• Anomalous thermal conductivity and magnetic torque response in the honeycomb magnet $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Large field-induced gap of Kitaev-Heisenberg paramagnons in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Field-induced quantum criticality in the Kitaev system $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Incommensurate Counterrotating Magnetic Order Stabilized by Kitaev Interactions in the Layered Honeycomb $\alpha$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Emergence of a Field-Driven U(1) Spin Liquid in the Kitaev Honeycomb Model
• Spin-orbit excitations and electronic structure of the putative Kitaev magnet $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Observation of two types of anyons in the Kitaev honeycomb magnet
• Robust non-Abelian spin liquid and possible intermediate phase in antiferromagnetic Kitaev model with magnetic field
• Dynamical and Topological Properties of the Kitaev Model in a [111] Magnetic Field
• Magnetic field induced quantum phases in a tensor network study of Kitaev magnets
• Magnetic field induced intermediate quantum spin-liquid with a spinon Fermi surface
• Toward Kitaev's sixteenfold way in a honeycomb lattice model
• Field-induced quantum spin liquid in the Kitaev-Heisenberg model and its relation to $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Variational study of the Kitaev-Heisenberg-Gamma model
• Kitaev honeycomb models in magnetic fields: Dynamical response and hidden symmetries
• Majorana-Magnon Crossover by a Magnetic Field in the Kitaev Model: Continuous-Time Quantum Monte Carlo Study
• Tuning topological orders by a conical magnetic field in the Kitaev model
• Field stability of Majorana spin liquids in antiferromagnetic Kitaev models

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Non-Abelian Floquet Spin Liquids in a Digital Rydberg Simulator
• Magnetic anisotropy reversal driven by structural symmetry-breaking in monolayer α-RuCl3
• Dynamics of visons and thermal Hall effect in perturbed Kitaev models
• Nature of visons in the perturbed ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic Kitaev honeycomb models
• Anyon dynamics in field-driven phases of the anisotropic Kitaev model
• Fermionic approach to variational quantum simulation of Kitaev spin models
• Thermal Hall conductivity near field-suppressed magnetic order in a Kitaev-Heisenberg model
• Dynamic structure factor of the antiferromagnetic Kitaev model in large magnetic fields
• Kitaev honeycomb antiferromagnet in a field: quantum phase diagram for general spin
• Emergent Hyper-Magic Manifold in Twisted Kitaev Bilayers