Emergent glassiness in disorder-free Kitaev model: Density matrix renormalization group study on a one-dimensional ladder setting

Abstract

The complete phase diagram of the Kitaev model with a magnetic field remains elusive, as do the experimental results in the candidate material α-RuCl3. Here, we study the Kitaev model on a one-dimensional ladder setting within the density-matrix renormalization group method in the presence of a magnetic field at zero temperature. We find five distinct phases with increasing magnetic field, which are characterized by a homogeneous flux phase, the Z2 vortex gas, solid and emergent glass phase, and finally, a spin-polarized phase. The emergent glassiness is confirmed by calculating correlation functions showing quasi-long-range behavior and ground state fidelity, showing a plethora of energetically accessible orthogonal saddle points corresponding to different flux configurations. This glassy behavior seems to arise from the slow dynamics of the Z2 fluxes, which is a consequence of the local constraints present in the underlying Hilbert space. This phenomenon can also be explored in other spin-liquid systems where the corresponding low-energy excitations are similarly retarded due to constraints.

12 pages including abstract

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• Fractionalization Signatures in the Dynamics of Quantum Spin Liquids
• Emergent quantum Majorana metal from a chiral spin liquid
• Dimensional reduction of Kitaev spin liquid at quantum criticality
• The nature of low-temperature spin-freezing in frustrated Kitaev magnets
• Field tuning Kitaev systems for spin fractionalization and topological order
• A primer on Kitaev Model: Basic aspects, material realization, and recent experiments
• Nature of the Topological Transition of the Kitaev Model in [111] Magnetic Field
• Fractional Wannier Orbitals and Tight-Binding Gauge Fields for Kitaev Honeycomb Superlattices with Flat Majorana Bands