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Vacancies in Generic Kitaev Spin Liquids
1Department of Condensed Matter Physics, <a href="https://ror.org/0316ej306">Weizmann Institute of Science</a>, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Physical Review Letters
|December 13, 2024
Summary
Real-world Kitaev spin liquids with broken integrability show vacancies gain magnetic moments. Pairs of vacancies reveal emergent gauge flux, unlike the exactly solvable model.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Quantum Magnetism
Background:
- The Kitaev honeycomb model exhibits gapless and gapped quantum spin liquid phases.
- Exact solvability depends on numerous locally conserved quantities.
- Real systems deviate from ideal models due to disorder and integrability-breaking interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the impact of integrability-breaking interactions on vacancies in the gapless Kitaev spin liquid.
- Characterize the magnetic properties of isolated vacancies.
- Analyze the behavior of vacancy pairs and their relation to emergent phenomena.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of the Kitaev honeycomb model with added perturbations.
- Examination of vacancy properties under conditions that break exact solvability.
- Power-law analysis of vacancy interactions.
Main Results:
- Isolated vacancies acquire a magnetic moment, a feature absent in the integrable model.
- Pairs of vacancies on specific sublattices exhibit distinct gap-opening power laws.
- These power laws indicate the presence of emergent gauge flux.
Conclusions:
- Integrability-breaking interactions fundamentally alter vacancy properties in Kitaev spin liquids.
- The emergence of magnetic moments and gauge flux highlights the importance of considering realistic imperfections.
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