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- Title
Magnon bound states versus anyonic Majorana excitations in the Kitaev honeycomb magnet α-RuCl3.
- Authors
Wulferding, Dirk; Choi, Youngsu; Do, Seung-Hwan; Lee, Chan Hyeon; Lemmens, Peter; Faugeras, Clément; Gallais, Yann; Choi, Kwang-Yong
- Abstract
The pure Kitaev honeycomb model harbors a quantum spin liquid in zero magnetic fields, while applying finite magnetic fields induces a topological spin liquid with non-Abelian anyonic excitations. This latter phase has been much sought after in Kitaev candidate materials, such as α-RuCl3. Currently, two competing scenarios exist for the intermediate field phase of this compound (B = 7 − 10 T), based on experimental as well as theoretical results: (i) conventional multiparticle magnetic excitations of integer quantum number vs. (ii) Majorana fermionic excitations of possibly non-Abelian nature with a fractional quantum number. To discriminate between these scenarios a detailed investigation of excitations over a wide field-temperature phase diagram is essential. Here, we present Raman spectroscopic data revealing low-energy quasiparticles emerging out of a continuum of fractionalized excitations at intermediate fields, which are contrasted by conventional spin-wave excitations. The temperature evolution of these quasiparticles suggests the formation of bound states out of fractionalized excitations. α-RuCl3 has properties consistent with predictions of a phase hosting fractionalized Majorana fermions but that could also be explained by conventional magnetic excitations. Here the authors find evidence for fractionalized quasiparticles by studying magnetic excitations across the field-temperature phase diagram.
- Subjects
QUANTUM spin liquid; QUANTUM spin models; SPIN waves; MAGNONS; BOUND states; QUANTUM numbers; MAJORANA fermions
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2020, Vol 11, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-020-15370-1