The spin-1/2 Kitaev model offers the exactly solvable example of quantum spin liquids.Possible material realizations of the spin-1/2 Kitaev systems and the prospect of using the Majorana fermion excitations for quantum computations have revolutionized quantum spin liquids research.Recently it has been suggested that higher-spin, especially spin-1, Kitaev exchange interactions can be realized in a variety of materials.Numerical computations on small clusters indicate that the ground state of the spin-1 Kitaev model may also be a quantum spin liquid.On the other hand, the nature of the ground state remains elusive since the spin-1 model is not exactly solvable in contrast to the spin-1/2 model.In this work, using the quantum-entanglement based tensor network approach, we construct an explicit ground-state wave function for the spin-1 Kitaev model, which is written only in terms of physical spin operators.We establish the existence of distinct topological sectors on a torus by constructing the minimally entangled states in the degenerate ground-state manifold and evaluating topological entanglement entropy.Our results suggest that the ground state of the spin-1 Kitaev model is a gapped quantum spin liquid with Z 2 gauge structure and Abelian quasiparticles.We explain the subtle differences between the spin-1/2 and spin-1 Kitaev quantum spin liquids.
The spin-1/2 Kitaev model offers the exactly solvable example of quantum spin liquids.Possible material realizations of the spin-1/2 Kitaev systems and the prospect of using the Majorana fermion excitations for quantum computations have revolutionized quantum spin liquids research.Recently it has been suggested that higher-spin, especially spin-1, Kitaev exchange interactions can be realized in a variety of materials.Numerical computations on small clusters indicate that the ground state of the spin-1 Kitaev model may also be a quantum spin liquid.On the other hand, the nature of the ground state remains elusive since the spin-1 model is not exactly solvable in contrast to the spin-1/2 model.In this work, using the quantum-entanglement based tensor network approach, we construct an explicit ground-state wave function for the spin-1 Kitaev model, which is written only in terms of physical spin operators.We establish the existence of distinct topological sectors on a torus by constructing the minimally entangled states in the degenerate ground-state manifold and evaluating topological entanglement entropy.Our results suggest that the ground state of the spin-1 Kitaev model is a gapped quantum spin liquid with Z 2 gauge structure and Abelian quasiparticles.We explain the subtle differences between the spin-1/2 and spin-1 Kitaev quantum spin liquids.
While most of the features of the Kitaev honeycomb model are already clarified from the combined Z2 plaquette and Majorana fermion picture, we show that retrieving the exact quantum many-body form gives a clue to fix the remaining issues on its spin liquid property. We provide an exact two-dimensional tensor network description of a full set of solutions from a random product state, by sequential quantum-number projection and Gutzwiller projection, both expressed as local matrix-product operators of dimension D=2. The ground and excited states share the same bond dimension yet exhibit distinct Schmidt spectra, distinguishing their area-law and volume-law entanglement. We demonstrate that the topological entanglement entropy emerges {\it for all eigenstates only after} the Gutzwiller projection onto the physical spin Hilbert space, where the gauge constraint removes exactly half of the Schmidt states. This establishes that excited states are likewise topologically ordered. We further show that there exists a projection-induced collapse of the wave function into a single gauge sector in the Parton mean-field states that is known to give a good description of the spin liquids. The demonstrations on the S=1/2 kagome and triangular Heisenberg models suggest that the present perspective is applied to a wider class of models hosting Z2 spin liquids. Our finding visualizes a bulk-boundary correspondence with the Wilson-loop characterization of topological order.
Contrasting ground states of quantum magnets with the integer- and half-integer-spin moments are the manifestation of many-body quantum interference effects. In this work, we investigate the distinct nature of the integer- and half-integer-spin quantum spin liquids in the framework of the Kitaev's model on the honeycomb lattice. The models with arbitrary spin quantum numbers are not exactly solvable in contrast to the well-known quantum spin liquid solution of the spin-1/2 system. We use the tensor-network wave functions for the integer-and half-integer-spin quantum spin liquid states to unveil the important difference between these states. We find that the distinct sign structures of the tensor-network wave function for the integer- and half-integer-spin quantum spin liquids are responsible for completely different ground states in the spatially anisotropic limit. Hence the spatial anisotropy would be a useful diagnostic test for distinguishing these quantum spin liquid states, both in the numerical computations and experiments on real materials. We support this discovery via extensive numerics including the tensor-network, DMRG, and exact diagonalization computations.
The formation of quantum spin liquids in frustrated magnets represents an exciting possibility due to the rather exotic features they harbor, including fractionalized excitations and emergent gauge fields. \nUnfortunately, they are notoriously difficult to study as there are often no good analytical methods available and quantum Monte Carlo simulations are hindered by the negative sign problem. \nThe Kitaev honeycomb model is a notable exception of a frustrated quantum model which is exactly solvable and which hosts a number of distinct quantum spin liquid ground states. \nAs such, it allows for a rare opportunity to study the physics of spin liquids with full analytical control. \n \nIn this thesis, we study the fractionalization of spin-1/2 moments into Majorana fermions and an emergent Z2 gauge field in a generalization of the Kitaev honeycomb model to a number of three-dimensional lattices. \nWhile the excitations of the gauge field are always gapped, the fermionic quasiparticles may exhibit a gapless dispersion, forming fully two-dimensional Fermi surfaces, symmetry protected nodal lines, or topological Weyl nodes. \nWe show that one can deduce rather general constraints on the possible gapless excitations by making use of an object called the projective symmetry group. \nIn doing so we provide a scheme for classifying the various gapless Kitaev spin liquids. \nA thorough analysis is carried out for a number of these spin liquids, primarily investigating the stability of the gapless modes and the novel features resulting from their sometimes non-trivial topology, as well as their effects on certain equal-time correlation functions.
This pedagogical article is aimed to the beginning graduate students interested in broad field of frustrated magnetism. We introduce and present some of the exact results obtained in Kitaev model. The Kitaev model embodies an unusual two spin interactions yet exactly solvable model in two dimension. This exact solvability renders it to realize many emergent many body phenomena such as Z2 gauge field, spin liquid states, spin fractionalization, topological order exactly. First we present the exact solution of Kitaev model using Majorana fermionisation and elaborate in detail the Z2 gauge structure. Following this we discuss exact calculation of magnetization, spin-spin correlation function establishing its spin-liquid character. Spin fractionalization and de-confinement of Majorana fermion is explained in detail. Existence of long range multi-spin correlation function and topological degeneracy are discussed to elucidate the entangled and topological nature of any eigenstate. Some elementary questionnaires are provided in appropriate places for assimilation of the technical details.
These lecture notes focus on the Kitaev honeycomb model, a two-dimensional quantumsystem with three distinct Ising-type interactions, depending on the direction of eachbond. This model has proven particularly important for describing quantum spin liquids,as well as for applications in topological quantum computing, due to its exotictopological properties. It constitutes the first exactly solvable theoretical model thatfully captures the behavior of a quantum spin liquid. We begin by presenting the geometryof the model, the Hamiltonian that describes the system, and Alexei Kitaev's effort toobtain an exact analytical solution, based on the decomposition of the Hilbert spaceinto flux sectors. We then present Ettore Majorana's observation that the Dirac equationalso admits real solutions, leading to the theoretical prediction of Majorana fermions-- particles that are identical to their antiparticles. We examine how the spatialseparation of Majorana operators leads to the rise of unbound Majorana fermions, andshowcase the exotic topological properties that manifest in physical systems such assuperconducting wires. Next, we represent the Hamiltonian in the basis of Majoranafermions, by expressing spin operators using four Majorana operators. The transitionfrom the extended space L~ to the physical subspace Lis achieved through a gauge transformation of the Z2 group. We thenreformulate the Hamiltonian in the basis of complex bond and matter fermions, transitionto momentum space, and assume that the system lies in the zero-flux sector. Through theBogoliubov--de Gennes transformation, we arrive at the final diagonalized Hamiltonianin the quasiparticle basis. Finally, we represent the possible phases -- the gaplessphase (phase B) and the gapped phases (phase Aαi) -- compute thecorresponding energy spectrum, and present the complete phase diagram. By employing thecorrelation function, we show that all phases are characterized by strong quantumentanglement and spin fractionalization, classifying the system as a quantum spin liquid.
Quantum spin liquids, a highly topologically entangled, dynamically correlated state where quantum fluctuations preclude any long-range ordering down to absolute zero. In the search for a topologically robust qubit, the scientific community has been in continuous hunt for real quantum spin liquid systems. Alexei Kitaev in his exactly solvable model for a spin-1/2 two-dimensional honeycomb lattice, presented a system that hosts a topologically protected state (Majorana zero-modes). Under an applied external field, the Kitaev spin liquids turn into a topologically non-trivial chiral spin-liquid state with non-abelian anionic excitations, which is crucial for quantum computing. Earlier theoretical predictions advocated that Kitaev physics can be realized in spin-orbit-coupled Mott insulators such as honeycomb irradiates and ruthenates. However, the experimental findings continuously challenge the theoretical aspects, indicating the presence of non-Kitaev interactions in real materials, where the dimensionality, disorder (vacancy), chemical composition, generalized spin-S, and external perturbations (pressure, magnetic field, temperature) can actively tune the Kitaev interactions and the ground state excitations. In this review article, a comprehensive discussion is included with an updated literature survey in the context of the potential of Raman spectroscopy as a probe for Kitaev quantum spin liquids.