Possible Realization of Kitaev Spin Liquids in van der Waals Heterostructures of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ and Cr$X_3$ ($X$=Cl and I)

Abstract

Despite the presence of the exact solution and well-established recipe for its realization, the quest for the Kitaev spin liquid in real materials remains exceptionally challenging. Among many magnets, $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ emerges as a prime candidate, albeit the hallmarks of the spin liquid manifest only within the specific region where the zigzag-type antiferromagnetic order is suppressed by an applied magnetic field. Here, we propose the possible realization of the Kitaev spin liquid at zero field by making van der Waals heterostructures of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ and a ferromagnet Cr$X_3$ ($X$=Cl and I). Using {\it ab initio} calculations, we find that in the case of $X$=Cl the zigzag order is suppressed by the proximity effect of the ferromagnetic CrCl${}_3$ layer, while the Kitaev interaction is still relevant in the $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ layer. Notably, the induced Ru moment is close to the value observed in the spin liquid region of the bulk material, signifying the possibility of the Kitaev spin liquid at zero field. In contrast, in the case of $X$=I, the system is on the verge of an insulator-metal transition by carrier doping through interlayer hybridization. Our results indicate that van der Waals heterostructures provide a new platform for studying not only magnetic but also electronic properties of the Kitaev magnets.

References in corpus (80)

• Electric Field Effect in Atomically Thin Carbon Films
• Atomically thin MoS2: A new direct-gap semiconductor
• Graphene: Status and Prospects
• Van der Waals heterostructures
• Magic-angle graphene superlattices: a new platform for unconventional superconductivity
• 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures
• Layer-dependent Ferromagnetism in a van der Waals Crystal down to the Monolayer Limit
• Anyons in an exactly solved model and beyond
• Discovery of intrinsic ferromagnetism in 2D van der Waals crystals
• Maximally-localized generalized Wannier functions for composite energy bands
• Two and one-dimensional honeycomb structures of silicon and germanium
• Mott Insulators in the Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling Limit: From Heisenberg to a Quantum Compass and Kitaev Models
• Maximally-localized Wannier functions for entangled energy bands
• The Valley Hall Effect in MoS2 Transistors
• Epitaxial Growth of Two-Dimensional Stanene
• Magnetic 2D materials and heterostructures
• Germanene: a novel two-dimensional Germanium allotrope akin to Graphene and Silicene
• Ising-Type Magnetic Ordering in Atomically Thin FePS3
• Majorana quantization and half-integer thermal quantum Hall effect in a Kitaev spin liquid
• Graphene Bilayers with a Twist
• 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
• On the origin of magnetic anisotropy in two dimensional CrI${}_3$
• Concepts of Ferrovalley Material and Anomalous Valley Hall Effect
• Models and Materials for Generalized Kitaev Magnetism
• Challenges in Design of Kitaev Materials: Magnetic Interactions from Competing Energy Scales
• 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
• Low-temperature crystal and magnetic structure of $\alpha$-RuCl3
• Excitations in the field-induced quantum spin liquid state of alpha-RuCl3
• Successive magnetic phase transitions in $\mathbf{\alpha }$-RuCl${}_3$: XY-like frustrated magnet on the honeycomb lattice
• Kitaev magnetism in honeycomb RuCl3 with intermediate spin-orbit coupling
• Half-integer quantized anomalous thermal Hall effect in the Kitaev material $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Fermionic response from fractionalization in an insulating two-dimensional magnet
• Breakdown of Magnons in a Strongly Spin-Orbital Coupled Magnet
• Hunting Majorana Fermions in Kitaev Magnets
• Crystal structure and magnetism in $\alpha$-RuCl3: an ab-initio study
• Intrinsic 2D-XY ferromagnetism in a van der Waals monolayer
• Spin-wave excitations evidencing the Kitaev interaction in single crystalline $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• First-Principles Study of the Honeycomb-Lattice Iridates Na2IrO3 in the Presence of Strong Spin-Orbit Interaction and Electron Correlations
• Robustness of the thermal Hall effect close to half-quantization in a field-induced spin liquid state
• Viewpoint: Opportunities and challenges of two-dimensional magnetic van der Waals materials: magnetic graphene?
• Doping a spin-orbit Mott Insulator: Topological Superconductivity from the Kitaev-Heisenberg Model and possible application to (Na2/Li2)IrO3
• The planar thermal Hall conductivity in the Kitaev magnet α-RuCl3
• Quantum anomalous Hall effect in ferromagnetic transition metal halides
• Sample dependence of the half-integer quantized thermal Hall effect in the Kitaev candidate $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Materials design of Kitaev spin liquids beyond the Jackeli-Khaliullin mechanism
• J${}_{eff}$ description of the honeycomb Mott insulator $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Magnetic properties of restacked 2D spin $\frac{1}{2}$ honeycomb RuCl${}_3$ nanosheets
• Evidence of a Phonon Hall Effect in the Kitaev Spin Liquid Candidate $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Quantum Lattice Model Solver $\mathcal{H}\Phi$
• Evidence for charge transfer and proximate magnetism in graphene/a-RuCl_3 heterostructures
• Spin-split band hybridization in graphene proximitized with $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ nanosheets
• Electronic properties of α-RuCl3 in proximity to graphene
• Local Probes for Charge-Neutral Edge States in Two-Dimensional Quantum Magnets
• Electronic Structure of the Kitaev Material $\alpha$-${\text{RuCl}}_3$ Probed by Photoemission and Inverse Photoemission Spectroscopies
• Optically Driven Magnetic Phase Transition of Monolayer RuCl3
• Unveiling Magnetic Interactions of Ruthenium Trichloride via Constraining Direction of Orbital moments: Potential Routes to Realize Quantum Spin Liquid
• Global phase diagram of a doped Kitaev-Heisenberg model
• Tunneling spectroscopy of quantum spin liquids
• Possible Structural Transformation and Enhanced Magnetic Fluctuations in Exfoliated $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• The range of non-Kitaev terms and fractional particles in RuCl${}_3$
• $\text{Ab Initio}$ Mismatched Interface Theory of Graphene on $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$: Doping and Magnetism
• Pressure-tuned magnetic interactions in honeycomb Kitaev materials
• Magnetic anisotropy reversal driven by structural symmetry-breaking in monolayer α-RuCl3
• STM as a single Majorana detector of Kitaev's chiral spin liquid
• Electrical Access to Ising Anyons in Kitaev Spin Liquids
• Detuning the Honeycomb of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$: Pressure-Dependent Optical Studies Reveal Broken Symmetry
• Scale-invariant magnetic anisotropy in RuCl${}_3$ at high magnetic fields
• Magnetism of Kitaev spin-liquid candidate material RuBr${}_3$
• Magnetoelastic coupling and effects of uniaxial strain in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ from first principles
• Fractionalized Fermi liquids and exotic superconductivity in the Kitaev-Kondo lattice
• Tunneling spectroscopy as a probe of fractionalization in 2D magnetic heterostructures
• Strongly electron-correlated semimetal RuI${}_3$ with a layered honeycomb structure
• Antiferromagnetic Kitaev Interactions in Polar Spin-Orbit Mott Insulators
• Topological superconductivity in the extended Kitaev-Heisenberg model
• Update of $\mathcal{H}\Phi$: Newly added functions and methods in versions 2 and 3
• Magnetic anisotropy energies and metal-insulator transitions in monolayers of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ and OsCl${}_3$ on graphene