Theory of the Kitaev model in a [111] magnetic field

Shang Shun Zhang; Gábor B. Halász; Cristian D. Batista

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28014-3

Theory of the Kitaev model in a [111] magnetic field

Shang Shun Zhang, Gábor B. Halász, Cristian D. Batista

Materials Theory

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27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent numerical studies indicate that the antiferromagnetic Kitaev honeycomb lattice model undergoes a magnetic-field-induced quantum phase transition into a new spin-liquid phase. This intermediate-field phase has been previously characterized as a gapless spin liquid. By implementing a recently developed variational approach based on the exact fractionalized excitations of the zero-field model, we demonstrate that the field-induced spin liquid is gapped and belongs to Kitaev’s 16-fold way. Specifically, the low-field non-Abelian liquid with Chern number C = ±1 transitions into an Abelian liquid with C = ±4. The critical field and the field-dependent behaviors of key physical quantities are in good quantitative agreement with published numerical results. Furthermore, we derive an effective field theory for the field-induced critical point which readily explains the ostensibly gapless nature of the intermediate-field spin liquid.

Original language	English
Article number	399
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	13
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28014-3
State	Published - Dec 2022

Funding

The authors thank Matthias Gohlke, Frank Pollmann, and Federico Becca for useful discussions. S-S.Z. and C.D.B. are supported by funding from the Lincoln Chair of Excellence in Physics. G.B.H. was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, National Quantum Information Science Research Centers, Quantum Science Center.

Funders	Funder number
National Quantum Information Science Research Centers
Quantum Science Center
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science

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Theory of the Kitaev model in a [111] magnetic field

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