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Visualizing Uniaxial-strain Manipulation of Antiferromagnetic Domains in Fe1+YTe Using a Spin-polarized Scanning Tunneling Microscope
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Proximate ferromagnetic state in the Kitaev model material α-RuCl3.
H Suzuki1, H Liu2, J Bertinshaw3
1Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Stuttgart, Germany. H.Suzuki@fkf.mpg.de.
Nature Communications
|July 24, 2021
Summary
Alpha-ruthenium trichloride (α-RuCl3) shows fragile zigzag order, not the predicted Kitaev spin liquid. Competing ferromagnetic correlations and quantum fluctuations stabilize this state, alongside ferromagnetism and the Kitaev spin liquid.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Quantum Materials
- Magnetism
Background:
- Alpha-ruthenium trichloride (α-RuCl3) is a key material for realizing the Kitaev quantum spin liquid.
- Observed zigzag antiferromagnetic order deviates from the ideal Kitaev model predictions.
Purpose of the Study:
- Quantify the spin Hamiltonian of α-RuCl3.
- Investigate the nature of magnetic excitations and order in α-RuCl3.
- Understand the factors stabilizing different magnetic states.
Main Methods:
- Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Ru L3 absorption edge.
- Analysis of magnetic excitation spectra in the paramagnetic state.
Main Results:
- The experimentally determined spin Hamiltonian reveals competing ferromagnetic correlations.
- Zigzag magnetic order is fragile and destabilized by these correlations.
- The classical ground state is ferromagnetic, with the zigzag state stabilized by quantum fluctuations.
Conclusions:
- Quantum fluctuations stabilize the zigzag state in α-RuCl3, with ferromagnetism and the Kitaev spin liquid as proximate metastable states.
- Understanding these competing states and their excitations is crucial for explaining α-RuCl3's behavior in magnetic fields.
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