Excitations in the field-induced quantum spin liquid state of alpha-RuCl3

Understand

The Kitaev model on a honeycomb lattice predicts a paradigmatic quantum spin liquid (QSL) exhibiting Majorana Fermion excitations.

• The insight that Kitaev physics might be realized in practice has stimulated investigations of candidate materials, recently including alpha-RuCl3.
• In all the systems studied to date, non-Kitaev interactions induce magnetic order at low temperature.
• However, in-plane magnetic fields of roughly 8 Tesla suppress the long-range magnetic order in alpha-RuCl3 raising the intriguing possibility of a field-induced QSL exhibiting non-Abelian quasiparticle excitations.