TY - JOUR
T1 - The range of non-Kitaev terms and fractional particles in α-RuCl3
AU - Wang, Yiping
AU - Osterhoudt, Gavin B.
AU - Tian, Yao
AU - Lampen-Kelley, Paige
AU - Banerjee, Arnab
AU - Goldstein, Thomas
AU - Yan, Jun
AU - Knolle, Johannes
AU - Ji, Huiwen
AU - Cava, Robert J.
AU - Nasu, Joji
AU - Motome, Yukitoshi
AU - Nagler, Stephen E.
AU - Mandrus, David
AU - Burch, Kenneth S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - Significant efforts have focused on the magnetic excitations of relativistic Mott insulators, predicted to realize the Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL). This exactly solvable model involves a highly entangled state resulting from bond-dependent Ising interactions that produce excitations which are non-local in terms of spin flips. A key challenge in real materials is identifying the relative size of the non-Kitaev terms and their role in the emergence or suppression of fractional excitations. Here, we identify the energy and temperature boundaries of non-Kitaev interactions by direct comparison of the Raman susceptibility of α-RuCl3 with quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) results for the Kitaev QSL. Moreover, we further confirm the fractional nature of the magnetic excitations, which is given by creating a pair of fermionic quasiparticles. Interestingly, this fermionic response remains valid in the non-Kitaev range. Our results and focus on the use of the Raman susceptibility provide a stringent new test for future theoretical and experimental studies of QSLs.
AB - Significant efforts have focused on the magnetic excitations of relativistic Mott insulators, predicted to realize the Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL). This exactly solvable model involves a highly entangled state resulting from bond-dependent Ising interactions that produce excitations which are non-local in terms of spin flips. A key challenge in real materials is identifying the relative size of the non-Kitaev terms and their role in the emergence or suppression of fractional excitations. Here, we identify the energy and temperature boundaries of non-Kitaev interactions by direct comparison of the Raman susceptibility of α-RuCl3 with quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) results for the Kitaev QSL. Moreover, we further confirm the fractional nature of the magnetic excitations, which is given by creating a pair of fermionic quasiparticles. Interestingly, this fermionic response remains valid in the non-Kitaev range. Our results and focus on the use of the Raman susceptibility provide a stringent new test for future theoretical and experimental studies of QSLs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85081254687&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41535-020-0216-6
DO - 10.1038/s41535-020-0216-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85081254687
SN - 2397-4648
VL - 5
JO - npj Quantum Materials
JF - npj Quantum Materials
IS - 1
M1 - 14
ER -