Feasibility of Kitaev quantum spin liquids in ultracold polar molecules

Abstract

Ultracold atoms and molecules trapped in optical lattices are expected to serve as simulators of strongly correlated systems and topological states of matter. A fascinating example is to realize the Kitaev quantum spin liquid by using ultracold polar molecules. However, although experimental implementation of the Kitaev-type interaction was proposed, the stability of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid has not been fully investigated thus far. Here we study a quantum spin model with long-range angle-dependent Kitaev-type interactions proposed for the polar molecules, by the pseudofermion functional renormalization group method. We reveal that the ground state is magnetically ordered in both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic models regardless of the spatial anisotropy of the interactions, while the isotropic case is most frustrated and closest to the realization of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid. Furthermore, by introducing a cutoff in the interaction range, we clarify how the Kitaev quantum spin liquid is destroyed by the long-range interactions. The results urge us to reconsider the feasibility of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid in ultracold polar molecules.

13 pages, 13 figures

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Pseudo-fermion functional renormalization group for spin models
• Ground-state phase diagram of spin-$S$ Kitaev-Heisenberg models
• Ground-State Phase Diagram of the Kitaev-Heisenberg Model on a Three-dimensional Hyperhoneycomb Lattice
• Field-driven spatiotemporal manipulation of Majorana zero modes in a Kitaev spin liquid
• Real-time control of non-Abelian anyons in Kitaev spin liquid under energy dissipation
• Topological Majorana flat bands in the Kitaev model on a Bishamon-kikko lattice
• Magnetic field effects on the Kitaev model coupled to environment