Phase diagram and quantum order by disorder in the kitaev K1 - K2 honeycomb magnet

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Ioannis Rousochatzakis - , University of Minnesota - College of Science and Engineering (Author)
  • Johannes Reuther - , Free University of Berlin, Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy (Author)
  • Ronny Thomale - , University of Würzburg (Author)
  • Stephan Rachel - , Chair of Theoretical Solid State Physics (Author)
  • N. B. Perkins - , University of Minnesota - College of Science and Engineering (Author)

Abstract

We show that the topological Kitaev spin liquid on the honeycomb lattice is extremely fragile against the second-neighbor Kitaev coupling K2, which has recently been shown to be the dominant perturbation away from the nearest-neighbor model in iridate Na2IrO3, and may also play a role in α-RuCl3 and Li2IrO3. This coupling naturally explains the zigzag ordering (without introducing unrealistically large longer-range Heisenberg exchange terms) and the special entanglement between real and spin space observed recently in Na2IrO3. Moreover, the minimal K1 - K2 model that we present here holds the unique property that the classical and quantum phase diagrams and their respective order-by-disorder mechanisms are qualitatively different due to the fundamentally different symmetries of the classical and quantum counterparts.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number041035
JournalPhysical Review X
Volume5
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - 2015
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas