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arXiv · 1506.09185

Phase Diagram and Quantum Order by Disorder in the Kitaev $K_1$-$K_2$ Honeycomb Magnet

Ioannis Rousochatzakis·Johannes Reuther·Ronny Thomale·Stephan Rachel·N. B. Perkins
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Abstract

We show that the topological Kitaev spin liquid on the honeycomb lattice is extremely fragile against the second-neighbor Kitaev coupling $K_2$, which has recently been shown to be the dominant perturbation away from the nearest-neighbor model in iridate Na$_2$IrO$_3$, and may also play a role in $α$-RuCl$_3$ and Li$_2$IrO$_3$. 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 Na$_2$IrO$_3$. Moreover, the minimal $K_1$-$K_2$ 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.

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Ioannis Rousochatzakis, Johannes Reuther, Ronny Thomale, Stephan Rachel, N. B. Perkins. 2015-12-07. Phase Diagram and Quantum Order by Disorder in the Kitaev $K_1$-$K_2$ Honeycomb Magnet. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevx.5.041035

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