The
S=23 Kitaev honeycomb model (KHM) is unique among the spin-
S Kitaev models due to a massive ground-state quasidegeneracy that hampered previous numerical and analytical studies. In a recent work [Jin et al., Nat. Commun. 13, 3813 (2022)], we showed how an SO(6) Majorana parton mean-field theory of the
S=23 isotropic KHM explains the anomalous features of this Kitaev spin liquid (KSL) in terms of an emergent low-energy Majorana flat band. Away from the isotropic limit, the
S=23 KSL generally displays a quadrupolar order with gapped or gapless Majorana excitations, features that were quantitatively confirmed by density-matrix renormalization group simulations. In this paper, we explore the connection between the
S=23 KHM with Kugel-Khomskii models and discover exactly soluble examples for the latter. We perform a symmetry analysis for the variational parton mean-field Ans\"atze in the spin and orbital basis for different quantum liquid phases of the
S=23 KHM. Finally, we investigate a proposed time-reversal symmetry-breaking spin liquid induced by [111] single-ion anisotropy and elucidate its topological properties as well as experimental signatures, e.g., an unquantized thermal Hall response.
We determine the phase diagrams of anisotropic Kitaev-Heisenberg models on the honeycomb lattice using parton mean-field theories based on different Majorana fermion representations of the S=1/2 spin operators. First, we use a two-dimensional Jordan-Wigner transformation (JWT) involving a semi-infinite snake string operator. To ensure that the fermionized Hamiltonian remains local, we consider the limit of extreme Ising exchange anisotropy in the Heisenberg sector. Second, we use the conventional Kitaev representation in terms of four Majorana fermions subject to local constraints, which we enforce through Lagrange multipliers. For both representations, we self-consistently decouple the interaction terms in the bond and magnetization channels and determine the phase diagrams as a function of the anisotropy of the Kitaev couplings and the relative strength of the Ising exchange. While both mean-field theories produce identical phase boundaries for the topological phase transition between the gapless and gapped Kitaev quantum spin liquids, the JWT fails to correctly describe the magnetic instability and finite-temperature behavior. Our results show that the magnetic phase transition is first order at low temperatures but becomes continuous above a certain temperature. At this energy scale, we also observe a finite-temperature crossover on the quantum-spin-liquid side, from a fractionalized paramagnet at low temperatures, in which gapped flux excitations are frozen out, to a conventional paramagnet at high temperatures. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
The higher spin Kitaev model prominently features the extensive locally conserved quantities the same as the spin-1/2 Kitaev honeycomb model, although it is not exactly solvable. It remains an open question regarding the physical meaning of these conserved quantities in the higher spin model. In this Letter, by introducing a Majorana parton construction for a general spin-S we uncover that these conserved quantities are exactly the Z_{2} gauge fluxes in the general spin-S model, including the case of spin-1/2. Particularly, we find an even-odd effect that the Z_{2} gauge charges are fermions in the half integer spin model, but are bosons in the integer spin model. We further prove that the fermionic Z_{2} gauge charges are always deconfined; hence, the half integer spin Kitaev model would have nontrivial spin liquid ground states regardless of interaction strengths in the Hamiltonian. The bosonic Z_{2} gauge charges of the integer spin model, on the other hand, could condense, leading to a trivial product state, and this is indeed the case at the anisotropic limit of the model.
We explore the phase diagram of a mixed-spin Kitaev model, where spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 ions form a staggered pattern on a honeycomb lattice. Enabled by an exact mapping of local conserved flux operators onto
Z2 gauge fields, we perform a parton mean-field theory for the model with a single-ion anisotropy. The phase diagram contains four types of quantum spin liquids distinguished by quadrupolar parameters. These analytical results are quantitatively confirmed by state-of-the-art DMRG simulations. We also explore the potential experimental realization of the mixed-spin Kitaev model in materials such as
Zr0.5Ru0.5Cl3. By developing a superexchange theory specifically for this mixed-spin system, we identify the conditions under which dominant Kitaev-like interactions emerge. Our findings highlight the importance of spin-orbital couplings and quadrupolar order parameters in stabilizing exotic phases, providing a foundation for exploring mixed-spin Kitaev magnets.
By including a material-relevant off-diagonal interaction called the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}$ term into the Kitaev model and introducing spatial anisotropy in the interaction strength on the honeycomb lattice, we obtain a series of nodal
Z2 quantum spin liquids (QSLs) from the parton approach. These QSLs share the same projective symmetry group and are characterized by certain numbers of symmetry-protected Majorana cones in their low-energy excitation spectrum. We illustrate that the physical properties of the QSLs are dependent on the information of the cones. Using the $\mathbit{k}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\mathbit{p}$ method, we analyze the chirality of every cone with respect to mass generating perturbations. Especially, for an applied external magnetic field, we provide the maximum-mass field orientation for every cone. Thus, for arbitrarily oriented weak magnetic fields, we can immediately read out the Chern number of the system and the properties of the resultant chiral spin liquids. The new gapless QSLs predicted in our phase diagrams are promising to be realized experimentally by exerting uniaxial pressure to tune the anisotropy of the interaction strength. We further show that all these QSLs can be distinguished by measurable quantities. Based on the study of these QSL phases, we conclude that a complete classification of nodal QSLs with certain symmetry should include not only the projective symmetry groups, but also the information of the cones, i.e., their total number, their chiralities, and the way in which they are symmetry related.
The Kitaev model on a honeycomb lattice with bond-dependent Ising interactions offers an exactly solvable model of a quantum spin liquid (QSL) with fractionalized excitations: gapped
Z2 fluxes and gapless linearly dispersing Majorana fermions in the isotropic limit (
Kx=Ky=Kz). We explore the phase diagram along two axes, an external magnetic field
h, applied out of plane of the honeycomb, and anisotropic interactions
Kz larger than the other two (${K}_{x}={K}_{y}\ensuremath{\equiv}K$). For ${K}_{z}/K\ensuremath{\gg}2$ and
h=0, the matter Majorana fermions have the largest gap, and the system is described by a gapped
Z2 toric code. One of the central questions we address is whether the fractionalized excitations in the different phases have sharp signatures that can be detected in experiments. We show that while the response to single-spin excitations is broad, the spectral function corresponding to two-spin excitations across a bond has sharp signatures that can be attributed to specific anyons. In the toric code regime, the $\ensuremath{\epsilon}=e\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}m$ fermion, formed from the bosonic Ising electric (
e) and magnetic (
m) charges, disperses along a specific one-dimensional direction that provides a fingerprint of fractionalization. At lower
Kz in the center of the Abelian phase, in a regime we dub the primordial fractionalized regime, the field generates a hybridization between the $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$ fermion and the Majorana matter fermion, resulting in a $\ensuremath{\psi}$ fermion which too has a distinct quasi-one-dimensional dispersion. All the other phases in the field-anisotropy plane are naturally obtained from this primordial soup. These highly constrained fractonlike dispersions can be observable by inelastic light and neutron scattering, thereby providing ``smoking gun'' signatures of fractionalization in the QSL phase. Our analysis is based on calculations of susceptibilities, topological entanglement entropy, and excitation dynamics, obtained using exact diagonalization and density matrix renormalization group, and supported by perturbation theory.