Field-induced phase transitions in the Kitaev-Heisenberg model: A sign-problem-free quantum Monte Carlo study and possible application to $\alpha$-RuCl3

Abstract

The frustrated magnet $\alpha$-RuCl3 is one of the prime candidates for realizing a Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL). However, the existence of a field-induced intermediate QSL phase in this material remains under debate. Here, we employ sign-free numerically exact quantum Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the Kitaev-Heisenberg (KH) model on the honeycomb lattice with $K=-2J$ under an applied magnetic field along the z-direction. Our findings reveal that the system undergoes a direct quantum phase transition from a zigzag magnetically ordered phase to a spin-polarized phase at zero temperature, which belongs to the 3D XY universality class. At finite temperatures, a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition line separates the spin-polarized phase from a quasi-long-range ordered state, eventually terminating at the quantum critical point. Our results convincingly show that there is no intermediate QSL phase in the KH model with a z-direction magnetic field, which we believe will shed important light on understanding experimental observations in $\alpha$-RuCl3.

arXiv comment4.5 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (100)

• Fault-tolerant quantum computation by anyons
• Non-Abelian Anyons and Topological Quantum Computation
• 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
• Quantum Spin Liquids
• Quantum Spin Liquid States
• Quantum Spin Liquids
• 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
• Zoo of quantum-topological phases of matter
• Proximate Kitaev Quantum Spin Liquid Behaviour in α-RuCl${}_3$
• Kitaev quantum spin liquid - concept and materialization
• An RVB phase in the triangular lattice quantum dimer model
• Quantum Monte Carlo with Directed Loops
• $\alpha$-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
• Herbertsmithite and the Search for the Quantum Spin Liquid
• A Field Guide to Spin Liquids
• The Physics Behind High-Temperature Superconducting Cuprates: The "Plain Vanilla" Version Of RVB
• On the Origin of Zigzag Magnetic Order in Iridium Oxide Na2IrO3
• Computational Studies of Quantum Spin Systems
• The monoclinic crystal structure of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ and the zigzag antiferromagnetic ground state
• Magnetic order in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$: a honeycomb lattice quantum magnet with strong spin-orbit coupling
• Quantum orders in an exact soluble model
• Low-temperature crystal and magnetic structure of $\alpha$-RuCl3
• Direct evidence of a zigzag spin chain structure in the honeycomb lattice: A neutron and x-ray diffraction investigation on single crystal $\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{a}}_2\mathrm{Ir}{\mathrm{O}}_3$
• An exact chiral spin liquid with non-Abelian anyons
• Hyper-honeycomb iridate $\beta$-Li2IrO3 as a platform for Kitaev magnetism
• Long range magnetic ordering in Na${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Short-ranged RVB physics, quantum dimer models and Ising gauge theories
• Fractionalization in an Easy-axis Kagome Antiferromagnet
• Kitaev magnetism in honeycomb RuCl3 with intermediate spin-orbit coupling
• Pseudospin exchange interactions in d^7 cobalt compounds: Possible realization of the Kitaev model
• Half-integer quantized anomalous thermal Hall effect in the Kitaev material $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• A new spin-anisotropic harmonic honeycomb iridate
• Topological Entanglement Entropy of a Bose-Hubbard Spin Liquid
• Quantum criticality with two length scales
• Thermal fractionalization of quantum spins in a Kitaev model: $T$-linear specific heat and coherent transport of Majorana fermions
• Spin-wave excitations evidencing the Kitaev interaction in single crystalline $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Kitaev-Heisenberg Hamiltonian for High-Spin $d^7$ Mott Insulators
• Anisotropic Ru3+ 4d5 magnetism in the alpha-RuCl3 honeycomb system: susceptibility, specific heat and Zero field NMR
• Kitaev Spin Liquid in 3d Transition Metal Compounds
• Exactly solvable Kitaev model in three dimensions
• Robustness of the thermal Hall effect close to half-quantization in a field-induced spin liquid state
• Incommensurate Counterrotating Magnetic Order Stabilized by Kitaev Interactions in the Layered Honeycomb $\alpha$-Li${}_2$IrO${}_3$
• Non-coplanar and counter-rotating incommensurate magnetic order stabilized by Kitaev interactions in $\gamma$-Li2IrO3
• Raman Scattering Signatures of Kitaev Spin Liquids in A${}_2$ IrO${}_3$ Iridates
• Unconventional magnetic order on the hyperhoneycomb Kitaev lattice in $\beta$-Li2IrO3: full solution via magnetic resonant x-ray diffraction
• Field-induced quantum spin disordered state in spin-1/2 honeycomb magnet Na2Co2TeO6
• The planar thermal Hall conductivity in the Kitaev magnet α-RuCl3
• Honeycomb-lattice Heisenberg-Kitaev model in a magnetic field: Spin canting, metamagnetism, and vortex crystals
• Dynamics of the Kitaev-Heisenberg Model
• Thermal Transport in the Kitaev Model
• Spin-S Kitaev model: Classical Ground States, Order by Disorder and Exact Correlation Functions
• Sample dependence of the half-integer quantized thermal Hall effect in the Kitaev candidate $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Theory of the field-revealed Kitaev spin liquid
• Finite field regime for a quantum spin liquid in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Algebraic spin liquid in an exactly solvable spin model
• Monte Carlo study of an improved clock model in three dimensions
• Fractional Spin Fluctuation as a Precursor of Quantum Spin Liquids: Majorana Dynamical Mean-Field Study for the Kitaev Model
• Fermionic magnons, non-Abelian spinons, and spin quantum Hall effect from an exactly solvable Kitaev Hamiltonian with SU(2) symmetry
• Microscopic models for fractionalized phases in strongly correlated systems
• Finite-size scaling method for the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition
• Classical spin liquid instability driven by off-diagonal exchange in strong spin-orbit magnets
• Field-induced intermediate ordered phase and anisotropic interlayer interactions in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Phase diagram and spin correlations of the Kitaev-Heisenberg model: Importance of quantum effects
• Identification of Magnetic Interactions and High-field Quantum Spin Liquid in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Beyond Kitaev physics in strong spin-orbit coupled magnets
• Global phase diagram, possible chiral spin liquid and topological superconductivity in the triangular Kitaev-Heisenberg model
• Thermodynamic perspective on the field-induced behavior of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Spin-orbital entangled state and realization of Kitaev physics in 3d cobalt compounds: a progress report
• High-pressure magnetization and NMR studies on $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• High-precision Monte Carlo study of several models in the three-dimensional U(1) universality class
• Classical and quantum spin dynamics of the honeycomb $\Gamma$ model
• Field-induced quantum spin liquid in the Kitaev-Heisenberg model and its relation to $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Kitaev-Heisenberg model in a magnetic field: order-by-disorder and commensurate-incommensurate transitions
• Emergence of a nematic paramagnet via quantum order-by-disorder and pseudo-Goldstone modes in Kitaev magnets
• Angle-dependent thermodynamics of $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Functional renormalization group study of the Kitaev-$\Gamma$ model on the honeycomb lattice and emergent incommensurate magnetic correlations
• Symmetry-based requirement for the measurement of electrical and thermal Hall conductivity under an in-plane magnetic field
• Revealing the Phase Diagram of Kitaev Materials by Machine Learning: Cooperation and Competition between Spin Liquids
• Magnetic Raman continuum in single crystalline H${}_3$LiIr${}_2$O${}_6$
• Possible Intermediate Quantum Spin Liquid Phase in $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$ under High Magnetic Fields up to 100 T
• 50 years of quantum spin liquids
• Plaquette order in classical spin liquid stabilized by strong off-diagonal exchange
• Comprehensive study of the global phase diagram in the triangular $J$-$K$-$\Gamma$ model
• Evidence for magnetic fractional excitations in a Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid candidate $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$
• Spin-$S$ Kitaev-Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice: A high-order treatment via the many-body coupled cluster method
• Ground-state properties of the $K-\Gamma$ model on a honeycomb lattice
• Field-induced phase transitions and quantum criticality in a honeycomb antiferromagnet Na3Co2SbO6
• Microscopic Roadmap to a Yao-Lee Spin-Orbital Liquid
• Confinement transition in a Kitaev-like honeycomb model with bond anisotropy
• Thermal Hall conductivity near field-suppressed magnetic order in a Kitaev-Heisenberg model
• Exact deconfined gauge structures in the higher-spin Yao-Lee model: a quantum spin-orbital liquid with spin fractionalization and non-Abelian anyons
• Interplay of Kitaev Interaction and Off-diagonal Exchanges: Exotic Phases and Quantum Phase Diagrams
• Field-Induced Ordered Phases in Anisotropic Spin-1/2 Kitaev Chains
• Understanding the magnetic interactions of the zig-zag honeycomb lattice: Application to $\alpha$-RuCl${}_3$

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Computational Frameworks for Patterned Two-Dimensional Magnetism