Phonon dynamics in the site-disordered Kitaev spin liquid

Dantas, Vitor; Kao, Wen-Han; Perkins, Natalia B.

doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.110.104425

Phonon dynamics in the site-disordered Kitaev spin liquid

Journal Article · Mon Sep 23 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Physical Review. B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.110.104425· OSTI ID:3004458

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University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

The Kitaev honeycomb model provides a paradigmatic example of an exactly solvable quantum spin liquid (QSL), where spins fractionalize into itinerant Majorana fermions coupled to a static background of ℤ₂ gauge fluxes. This model has attracted significant interest due to its potential experimental realization in spin-orbit Mott insulators like 𝛼−RuCl₃. Among various experimental techniques, ultrasound measurements of sound attenuation have emerged as a promising approach to detect spin fractionalization in these materials. However, deviations from the ideal Kitaev model, often due to disorder, introduce localized modes that dominate the low-energy physics. To investigate these effects, we calculate the sound attenuation coefficient in the site-disordered Kitaev honeycomb model under an applied magnetic field that breaks time-reversal symmetry. Our analysis reveals that quasilocalized modes from quasivacancies impact the phonon self-energy, yet the sound attenuation coefficient maintains its sixfold symmetry and linear temperature dependence at low temperatures, even with disorder. This robustness underscores sound attenuation's reliability as a probe for spin fractionalization. As a result, we show that this linear behavior persists under an external field and in the random-flux sector, highlighting the persistent influence of fractionalized excitations, despite disorder.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0018056

OSTI ID:: 3004458

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2448002
OSTI ID: 2473374

Journal Information:: Physical Review. B, Journal Name: Physical Review. B Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 110; ISSN 2469-9969; ISSN 2469-9950

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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