Identification of magnetic interactions and high-field quantum spin liquid in α-RuCl3

Han Li, Hao-Kai Zhang, Jiucai Wang, Han-Qing Wu, Yuan Gao, Dai-Wei Qu, Zheng-Xin Liu (), Shou-Shu Gong () and Wei Li ()
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Han Li: Beihang University
Hao-Kai Zhang: Beihang University
Jiucai Wang: Tsinghua University
Han-Qing Wu: Sun Yat-sen University
Yuan Gao: Beihang University
Dai-Wei Qu: Beihang University
Zheng-Xin Liu: Renmin University of China
Shou-Shu Gong: Beihang University
Wei Li: Beihang University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The frustrated magnet α-RuCl3 constitutes a fascinating quantum material platform that harbors the intriguing Kitaev physics. However, a consensus on its intricate spin interactions and field-induced quantum phases has not been reached yet. Here we exploit multiple state-of-the-art many-body methods and determine the microscopic spin model that quantitatively explains major observations in α-RuCl3, including the zigzag order, double-peak specific heat, magnetic anisotropy, and the characteristic M-star dynamical spin structure, etc. According to our model simulations, the in-plane field drives the system into the polarized phase at about 7 T and a thermal fractionalization occurs at finite temperature, reconciling observations in different experiments. Under out-of-plane fields, the zigzag order is suppressed at 35 T, above which, and below a polarization field of 100 T level, there emerges a field-induced quantum spin liquid. The fractional entropy and algebraic low-temperature specific heat unveil the nature of a gapless spin liquid, which can be explored in high-field measurements on α-RuCl3.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24257-8

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