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Complex Ir oxides provide a promising platform for investigating cooperativity and competition between Mott physics and spin‐orbit coupling in condensed matter physics. These materials have the potential to reveal intriguing phases, such as topological phases and the Kitaev spin liquid state, an exactly solvable S = 1/2 spin model describing Ir4+ ions on a 2D honeycomb lattice. However, experimental confirmation of such phases in iridate films has been hindered by the difficulty of preparing (111)‐oriented samples of the perovskite phase. Herein, by constructing SrIrO3/SrTiO3 superlattices on SrTiO3 (111) substrates, (111)‐oriented perovskite phase SrIrO3 films are achieved with the unprecedentedly large thickness of 6 unit cells. Electrical and magnetic characterizations reveal that these films exhibit anomalous Hall insulating behavior, significant charge fluctuations, and long‐range antiferromagnetic order. Moreover, these properties can be tuned by varying the thickness of the SrIrO₃ layer. These emergent phenomena underscore the complex interactions among spin‐orbit coupling, electron–electron correlations, and crystal structure in (111)‐oriented artificial iridate honeycomb lattices. Further, spin fractionalization and topological quantum spin liquid may be achieved by tuning the spin–orbit coupling and crystal field intensity from interface engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vacancy effect in quantum spin liquid (QSL) has been extensively studied. A finite density of random vacancies in the Kitaev model can lead to a pileup of low-energy density of states (DOS), which is generally experimentally determined by a scaling behavior of thermodynamic or magnetization quantities. Here, we report detailed muon spin relaxation (μSR) results of H3LiIr2O6, a Kitaev QSL candidate with vacancies. The absence of magnetic order is confirmed down to 80 mK, and the spin fluctuations are found to be persistent at low temperatures. Intriguingly, the time-field scaling law of longitudinal-field (LF)-μSR polarization is observed down to 0.1 K. This indicates a dynamical scaling, whose critical exponent of 0.46 is excellently consistent with the scaling behavior of specific heat and magnetization data. All the observations point to the finite DOS with the form N (E) ∼ E − ν , which is expected for the Kitaev QSL in the presence of vacancies. Our μSR study provides a dynamical fingerprint of the power-law low-energy DOS and introduces a crucial new insight into the vacancy effect in QSL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare-earth chalcogenide compounds ARECh2 (A = alkali or monovalent metal, RE = rare earth, Ch = O, S, Se, Te) are a large family of quantum spin liquid (QSL) candidate materials. NaYbS2 is a representative member of the family. Several key issues on NaYbS2, particularly how to determine the highly anisotropic spin Hamiltonian and describe the magnetism at finite temperatures and the ground state, remain to be addressed. In this paper, we conducted an in-depth and comprehensive study on the magnetism of NaYbS2 from finite temperatures to the ground state. Firstly, we successfully detected three crystalline electric field (CEF) excitation energy levels using low-temperature Raman scattering technique. Combining them with the CEF theory and magnetization data, we worked out the CEF parameters, CEF energy levels, and CEF wavefunctions. We further determined a characteristic temperature of ∼40 K, above which the magnetism is dominated by CEF excitations while below which the spin-exchange interactions play a main role. The characteristic temperature has been confirmed by the temperature-dependent electron spin resonance (ESR) linewidth. Low-temperature ESR experiments on the dilute magnetic doped crystal of NaYb0.1Lu0.9S2 further helped us to determine the accurate g-factor. Next, we quantitatively obtained the spin-exchange interactions in the spin Hamiltonian by consistently simulating the magnetization and specific heat data. Finally, the above studies allow us to explore the ground state magnetism of NaYbS2 by using the density matrix renormalization group. We combined numerical calculations and experimental results to demonstrate that the ground state of NaYbS2 is a Dirac-like QSL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The layered material α-RuCl3 is a promising candidate to realize the Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL) state. However, at ambient pressure, deviations from the perfect Kitaev geometry prevent the existence of the QSL state at low temperatures. Here we present the discovery of a pressure-induced high-symmetry phase in α-RuCl3, which creates close to ideal conditions for the emergence of a QSL. Employing a novel approach based on Bragg and diffuse scattering of synchrotron radiation, we reveal a pressure-induced reorganization of the RuCl3-layers. Most importantly, this reorganization affects the structure of the layers themselves, which acquire a high trigonal symmetry. For this trigonal phase the largest ratio between the Kitaev (K) and the Heisenberg exchange (J) ever encountered is found: K/J = 124. Additionally, we demonstrate that this phase can also be stabilized by a slight biaxial pressure. This not only resolves the conflicting reports of low-temperature structures in the literature, but also facilitates the investigation of the high-symmetry phase and its potential QSL using a range of experimental techniques. The layered material α-RuCl3 is a promising candidate for the Kitaev quantum spin liquid, but its low-temperature structure is debated. Here, using a new structural characterization approach, the authors report a pressure-induced high-symmetry phase in α-RuCl3, which might be close to the ideal Kitaev geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered honeycomb iridates receive significant attention in the materials chemistry and physics fields due to the relevance of their crystal structures to the Kitaev model of a quantum spin liquid (QSL). In quest of liquid‐like magnetic ground state signatures, first‐generation alkali metal iridates A2IrO3 ≡ A3[AIr2]O6 (A = Li, Na) and second‐generation iridates T3[AIr2]O6 (T = Cu, Ag, H) are developed. T3[AIr2]O6 is synthesized from A3[AIr2]O6 via metathesis reactions replacing alkali ions located between honeycomb layers. Herein, the next level of chemical and structural complexity is introduced by synthesizing the honeycomb iridate, Cu3ZnIr2O6, in which alkali ions between and within the honeycomb layers are both selectively exchanged with two different transition metals. Analysis of powder X‐Ray diffraction data reveals corrugation of the honeycomb layers in Cu3ZnIr2O6 that hinders complete magnetic frustration and results in a spin glass behavior observed from magnetization and specific heat data. Thus, Cu3ZnIr2O6 represents yet another model, which broadens understanding of intricate relationships between intralayer distortions and magnetism of prospective Kitaev QSL compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the interplay between magnetism and topological bands, magnetic kagome semimetals provide promising platforms for exploring exotic correlated electronic states and quantum phenomena such as anomalous Hall effect, quantum spin liquid, and unconventional magnetoresistance, as well as driving advances in electronic and spintronic applications. Here, a field‐induced butterfly‐like anomalous anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) effect in an intriguing kagome semimetal Co3In2S2 is reported. The kagome‐lattice Co3In2S2 single crystals are synthesized via a polycrystal‐source chemical vapor transport approach, possessing a high carrier mobility reaching 104 cm2V−1s−1. The Co3In2S2 single crystal exhibits a canted antiferromagnetic state below 5 K, but intriguingly, it is easily transformed into a ferromagnetic state under a small external magnetic field. Furthermore, the planar Hall effect (PHE) is detected, stemming from the complex contribution of field‐induced ferromagnetism and orbital magnetoresistance. Remarkably, as the magnetic field increases, the low‐temperature magnetoresistance behavior of the Co3In2S2 reveals a butterfly‐like AMR effect with a maximum value of 850%, exhibiting a superposition of the two‐, four‐, and six‐fold AMR terms. Band structure calculations suggest that such a field‐induced butterfly‐like AMR effect may originate from the modulations of the electronic structure near the Fermi level by the magnetic moment. The findings offer a valuable platform for understanding the anomalous AMR effect and for the development of advanced spintronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetism of Kitaev materials has been widely studied, but their charge properties and the coupling to other degrees of freedom are less known. Here we investigate the charge states of α-RuCl3, a promising Kitaev quantum spin liquid candidate, in proximity to graphite. We discover that few-layered α-RuCl3 experiences a clear modulation of charge states, where a Mott-insulator to weak charge-transfer-insulator transition in the 2D limit occurs by means of heterointerfacial polarization. More notably, distinct signals of incommensurate charge and lattice super-modulations, regarded as an unconventional charge order, accompanied in the insulator. Our theoretical calculations have reproduced the incommensurate charge order by taking into account the antiferroelectricity of α-RuCl3 that is driven by dipole order in the internal electric fields. The findings imply that there is strong coupling between the charge, spin, and lattice degrees of freedom in layered α-RuCl3 in the heterostructure, which offers an opportunity to electrically access and tune its magnetic interactions inside the Kitaev compounds. Exotic charge-spin coupling is expected in the Kitaev spin liquid. Here, the authors report unconventional charge order and Mott-Hubbard to charge transfer insulator transition in layered α-RuCl3 in proximity to graphite, indicating the internal coupling between charge, spin and orbital degrees of freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geometrically frustrated kagome materials reveal many novel states of matter ranging from quantum spin liquids to multiferroics. Herein, we study the compound CaFe3O(PO4)3, which has a quasi-two-dimensional lattice of Fe3+ ions with spin S = 5/2. Electrical and magnetic properties have been investigated on polycrystalline specimens of CaFe3O(PO4)3 using magnetization, pyroelectric, and magnetoelectric current measurements. The system undergoes a weak ferromagnetic-type ordering at TC1 ∼ 19.5 K, followed by another transition at TC2 ∼ 9 K. While no ferroelectric polarization (P) is observed at a zero magnetic field (H), the applied H induces P below TC2. At the temperature of 2.5 K, P starts to increase above H of 1 T, shows a maximum value at 3.15 T, and then decreases at higher H regions. The observed results suggest that CaFe3O(PO4)3 should be a magnetic-field-induced ferroelectric compound with frustrated magnetic couplings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geometrically frustrated kagome materials reveal many novel states of matter ranging from quantum spin liquids to multiferroics. Herein, we study the compound CaFe3O(PO4)3, which has a quasi-two-dimensional lattice of Fe3+ ions with spin S = 5/2. Electrical and magnetic properties have been investigated on polycrystalline specimens of CaFe3O(PO4)3 using magnetization, pyroelectric, and magnetoelectric current measurements. The system undergoes a weak ferromagnetic-type ordering at TC1 ∼ 19.5 K, followed by another transition at TC2 ∼ 9 K. While no ferroelectric polarization (P) is observed at a zero magnetic field (H), the applied H induces P below TC2. At the temperature of 2.5 K, P starts to increase above H of 1 T, shows a maximum value at 3.15 T, and then decreases at higher H regions. The observed results suggest that CaFe3O(PO4)3 should be a magnetic-field-induced ferroelectric compound with frustrated magnetic couplings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the study of quantum materials through thermal characterization methods has attracted much attention. These methods, although not as widely used as electrical methods, can reveal intriguing physical properties in materials that are not detectable by electrical methods, particularly in electrical insulators. A fundamental understanding of these physical properties is critical for the development of novel applications for energy conversion and storage, quantum sensing and quantum information processing. In this review, we introduce several commonly used thermal characterization methods for quantum materials, including specific heat, thermal conductivity, thermal Hall effect, and Nernst effect measurements. Important theories for the thermal properties of quantum materials are discussed. Moreover, we introduce recent research progress on thermal measurements of quantum materials. We highlight experimental studies on probing the existence of quantum spin liquids, Berry curvature, chiral anomaly, and coupling between heat carriers. We also discuss the work on investigating the quantum phase transitions and quasi-particle hydrodynamics using thermal characterization methods. These findings have significantly advanced knowledge regarding novel physical properties in quantum materials. In addition, we provide some perspectives on further investigation of novel thermal properties in quantum materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum fluctuations can inhibit long-range ordering in frustrated magnets and potentially lead to quantum spin liquid (QSL) phases. A prime example are gapless QSLs with emergent U(1) gauge fields, which have been understood to be described in terms of quantum electrodynamics in 2+1 dimension (QED3). Despite several promising candidate materials, however, a complicating factor for their realisation is the presence of other degrees of freedom. In particular lattice distortions can act to relieve magnetic frustration, precipitating conventionally ordered states. In this work, we use field-theoretic arguments as well as extensive numerical simulations to show that the U(1) Dirac QSL on the triangular and kagome lattices exhibits a weak-coupling instability due to the coupling of monopoles of the emergent gauge field to lattice distortions, leading to valence-bond solid ordering. This generalises the spin-Peierls instability of one-dimensional quantum critical spin chains to two-dimensional algebraic QSLs. We study static distortions as well as quantum-mechanical phonons. Even in regimes where the QSL is stable, the singular spin-lattice coupling leads to marked temperature-dependent corrections to the phonon spectrum, which provide salient experimental signatures of spin fractionalisation. We discuss the coupling of QSLs to the lattice as a general tool for their discovery and characterisation. Quantum spin liquids can emerge in frustrated magnets where quantum fluctuations prevent long-range order. Seifert et al. show that spin-lattice couplings can relieve magnetic frustration and destabilise 2D gapless quantum spin liquid states with fractionalised excitations, analogous to the 1D spin-Peierls instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional magnetic sub-Kelvin cooling relies on the nearly free local moments in hydrate paramagnetic salts, whose utility is hampered by the dilute magnetic ions and low thermal conductivity. Here we propose to use instead fractional excitations inherent to quantum spin liquids (QSLs) as an alternative, which are sensitive to external fields and can induce a very distinctive magnetocaloric effect. With state-of-the-art tensor-network approach, we compute low-temperature properties of Kitaev honeycomb model. For the ferromagnetic case, strong demagnetization cooling effect is observed due to the nearly free Z2 vortices via spin fractionalization, described by a paramagnetic equation of state with a renormalized Curie constant. For the antiferromagnetic Kitaev case, we uncover an intermediate-field gapless QSL phase with very large spin entropy, possibly due to the emergence of spinon Fermi surface and gauge field. Potential realization of topological excitation magnetocalorics in Kitaev materials is also discussed, which may offer a promising pathway to circumvent existing limitations in the paramagnetic hydrates. Recently, frustrated quantum magnets have attracted interest for magnetocaloric applications. Here, using numerical calculations, the authors find a pronounced demagnetization cooling effect in the Kitaev magnets, ascribed to fractionalized topological excitations in the Kitaev quantum spin liquid regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical charge order shapes the electronic properties in layered charge density wave (CDW) materials. Various stacking orders inevitably create nanoscale domains with distinct electronic structures inaccessible to bulk probes. Here, the stacking characteristics of bulk 1T‐TaS2 are analyzed using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is observed that Mott‐insulating domains undergo a transition to band‐insulating domains restoring vertical dimerization of the CDWs. Furthermore, STS measurements covering a wide terrace reveal two distinct band insulating domains differentiated by band edge broadening. These DFT calculations reveal that the Mott insulating layers preferably reside on the subsurface, forming broader band edges in the neighboring band insulating layers. Ultimately, buried Mott insulating layers believed to harbor the quantum spin liquid phase are identified. These results resolve persistent issues regarding vertical charge order in 1T‐TaS2, providing a new perspective for investigating emergent quantum phenomena in layered CDW materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vertical charge order shapes the electronic properties in layered charge density wave (CDW) materials. Various stacking orders inevitably create nanoscale domains with distinct electronic structures inaccessible to bulk probes. Here, the stacking characteristics of bulk 1T‐TaS2 are analyzed using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is observed that Mott‐insulating domains undergo a transition to band‐insulating domains restoring vertical dimerization of the CDWs. Furthermore, STS measurements covering a wide terrace reveal two distinct band insulating domains differentiated by band edge broadening. These DFT calculations reveal that the Mott insulating layers preferably reside on the subsurface, forming broader band edges in the neighboring band insulating layers. Ultimately, buried Mott insulating layers believed to harbor the quantum spin liquid phase are identified. These results resolve persistent issues regarding vertical charge order in 1T‐TaS2, providing a new perspective for investigating emergent quantum phenomena in layered CDW materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic frustration is a route for novel ground states, including spin liquids and spin ices. Such frustration can be introduced through either lattice geometry or incompatible exchange interactions. Here, we find that epitaxial strain is an effective tool for tuning antiferromagnetic exchange interactions in a square-lattice system. By studying the magnon excitations in La2NiO4 films using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, we show that the magnon displays substantial dispersion along the antiferromagnetic zone boundary, at energies that depend on the lattice of the film's substrate. Using first principles simulations and an effective spin model, we demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbour coupling is a consequence of the two-orbital nature of La2NiO4. Altogether, we illustrate that compressive epitaxial strain enhances this coupling and, as a result, increases the level of incompatibility between exchange interactions within a model square-lattice system. Frustration in magnetic systems may lead to exotic quantum phases such as spin liquid and spin ice state. Here the authors demonstrate that compressive epitaxial strain in La2NiO4 films deposited on different substrates can tune antiferromagnetic exchange interactions and increase the degree of frustration through the increased level of incompatibility between exchange interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic frustration is a route for novel ground states, including spin liquids and spin ices. Such frustration can be introduced through either lattice geometry or incompatible exchange interactions. Here, we find that epitaxial strain is an effective tool for tuning antiferromagnetic exchange interactions in a square-lattice system. By studying the magnon excitations in La2NiO4 films using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, we show that the magnon displays substantial dispersion along the antiferromagnetic zone boundary, at energies that depend on the lattice of the film's substrate. Using first principles simulations and an effective spin model, we demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbour coupling is a consequence of the two-orbital nature of La2NiO4. Altogether, we illustrate that compressive epitaxial strain enhances this coupling and, as a result, increases the level of incompatibility between exchange interactions within a model square-lattice system. Frustration in magnetic systems may lead to exotic quantum phases such as spin liquid and spin ice state. Here the authors demonstrate that compressive epitaxial strain in La2NiO4 films deposited on different substrates can tune antiferromagnetic exchange interactions and increase the degree of frustration through the increased level of incompatibility between exchange interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered honeycomb cobaltates are predicted as promising for realizing the Kitaev quantum spin liquid, a many-body quantum entangled ground state characterized by fractional excitations. However, they exhibit antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures, hindering the expected quantum state. We demonstrate that controlling the trigonal distortion of CoO6 octahedra is crucial to suppress antiferromagnetic order through enhancing frustration in layered honeycomb cobaltates. Using heterostructure engineering on Cu3Co2SbO6 thin films, we adjust the trigonal distortion of CoO6 octahedra and the resulting trigonal crystal field. The original Néel temperature of 16 kelvin in bulk Cu3Co2SbO6 decreases (increases) to 7.8 kelvin (22.7 kelvin) in strained Cu3Co2SbO6 films by decreasing (increasing) the magnitude of the trigonal crystal fields. The first-principles calculation suggests the enhancement of geometrical frustration as the origin of the suppression of antiferromagnetism. This finding supports the potential of layered honeycomb cobaltate heterostructures and strain engineering in realizing extremely elusive quantum phases of matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum loop and dimer models are prototypical correlated systems with local constraints, which are not only intimately connected to lattice gauge theories and topological orders but are also widely applicable to the broad research areas of quantum materials and quantum simulation. Employing our sweeping cluster quantum Monte Carlo algorithm, we reveal the complete phase diagram of the triangular-lattice fully packed quantum loop model. Apart from the known lattice nematic (LN) solid and the even Z 2 quantum spin liquid (QSL) phases, we discover a hidden vison plaquette (VP) phase, which had been overlooked and misinterpreted as a QSL for more than a decade. Moreover, the VP-to-QSL continuous transition belongs to the (2 + 1)D cubic* universality class, which offers a lattice realization of the (fractionalized) cubic fixed point that had long been considered as irrelevant towards the O(3) symmetry until corrected recently by conformal bootstrap calculations. Our results are therefore of relevance to recent developments in both experiments and theory, and facilitate further investigations of hidden phases and transitions. By using the sweeping cluster quantum Monte Carlo algorithm, the authors reveal the complete ground-state phase diagram of the triangular-lattice fully packed quantum loop model. They discover a hidden vison plaquette phase between the known lattice nematic solid and the even Z 2 quantum spin liquid (QSL) phase, which had been previously misinterpreted as the QSL, and explain how to detect it experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years, the thermal Hall transport has risen as an important diagnosis of the physical properties of the elementary excitations in various quantum materials, especially among the Mott insulating systems where the electronic transports are often featureless. Here we review the recent development of thermal Hall effects in quantum magnets where all the relevant excitations are charge-neutral. In addition to summarizing the existing experiments, we pay a special attention to the underlying mechanisms of the thermal Hall effects in various magnetic systems, and clarify the connection between the microscopic physical variables and the emergent degrees of freedom in different quantum phases. The external magnetic field is shown to modify the intrinsic Berry curvature properties of various emergent and/or exotic quasiparticle excitations in distinct fashions for different quantum systems and quantum phases, contributing to the thermal Hall transports. These include, for example, the conventional ones like the magnons in ordered magnets, the triplons in dimerized magnets, the exotic and fractionalized quasiparticles such as the spinons and the magnetic monopoles in quantum spin liquids. We review their contribution and discuss their presence in the thermal Hall conductivity in different physical contexts. We expect this review to provide a useful guidance for the physical mechanism of the thermal Hall transports in quantum magnets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kagome lattice is an exciting solid state physics platform for the emergence of nontrivial quantum states driven by electronic correlations: topological effects, unconventional superconductivity, charge and spin density waves, and unusual magnetic states such as quantum spin liquids. While kagome lattices have been realized in complex multi-atomic bulk compounds, here we demonstrate from first-principles a process that we dub kagomerization, in which we fabricate a two-dimensional kagome lattice in monolayers of transition metals utilizing an hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) overlayer. Surprisingly, h-BN induces a large rearrangement of the transition metal atoms supported on a fcc(111) heavy-metal surface. This reconstruction is found to be rather generic for this type of heterostructures and has a profound impact on the underlying magnetic properties, ultimately stabilizing various topological magnetic solitons such as skyrmions and bimerons. Our findings call for a reconsideration of h-BN as merely a passive capping layer, showing its potential for not only reconstructing the atomic structure of the underlying material, e.g. through the kagomerization of magnetic films, but also enabling electronic and magnetic phases that are highly sought for the next generation of device technologies. Using first-principles calculations, the authors highlight h-BN's role in reshaping transition metal monolayers into kagome lattices—a key structure in 2D physics—and in stabilizing topological solitons vital for advanced data storage solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exchange underpins the magnetic properties of quantum matter. In its most basic form, it occurs through the interplay of Pauli's exclusion principle and Coulomb repulsion, being referred to as Coulomb or direct exchange. Pauli's exclusion principle combined with inter-atomic electron hopping additionally leads to kinetic exchange and superexchange. Here we disentangle the different exchange channels in anisotropic Kitaev–Heisenberg context. By quantum chemical computations, we show that anisotropic Coulomb exchange, completely neglected so far in the field, may be as large as (or even larger than) other contributions — kinetic exchange and superexchange. This opens new perspectives onto anisotropic exchange mechanisms and sets the proper conceptual framework for further research on tuning Kitaev–Heisenberg magnetism. Kitaev materials are synonymous with quantum spin liquids, where due to a mix of different exchange interactions, they can house a range of exotic magnetic phenomena. Here, using a quantum chemical computational approach, the authors demonstrate the potentially important role anisotropic Coulomb exchange plays in the magnetic interactions of different Kitaev spin liquid candidate materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamical response of a quantum spin liquid upon injecting a hole is a pertinent open question. In experiments, the hole spectral function, measured momentum-resolved in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) or locally in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), can be used to identify spin liquid materials. In this study, we employ tensor network methods to simulate the time evolution of a single hole doped into the Kitaev spin-liquid ground state. Focusing on the gapped spin liquid phase, we reveal two fundamentally different scenarios. For ferromagnetic spin couplings, the spin liquid is highly susceptible to hole doping: a Nagaoka ferromagnet forms dynamically around the doped hole, even at weak coupling. By contrast, in the case of antiferromagnetic spin couplings, the hole spectrum demonstrates an intricate interplay between charge, spin, and flux degrees of freedom, best described by a parton mean-field ansatz of fractionalized holons and spinons. Moreover, we find a good agreement of our numerical results to the analytically solvable case of slow holes. Our results demonstrate that dynamical hole spectral functions provide rich information on the structure of fractionalized quantum spin liquids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-dimensional materials represent a major frontier for research into exotic many-body quantum phenomena. In the extreme two-dimensional limit, electron-electron interaction often dominates over other electronic energy scales, leading to strongly correlated effects such as quantum spin liquid and unconventional superconductivity. The dominance is conventionally attributed to the lack of electron screening in the third dimension. Here, we discover an intriguing metal to Mott insulator transition in 1T-TaSe2 that defies conventional wisdom. Specifically, we find that dimensionality crossover, instead of reduced screening, drives the transition in atomically thin 1T-TaSe2. A dispersive band crossing the Fermi level is found to be responsible for the bulk metallicity in the material. Reducing the dimensionality, however, effectively quenches the kinetic energy of these initially itinerant electrons, and drives the material into a Mott insulating state. The dimensionality-driven metal to Mott insulator transition resolves the long-standing dichotomy between metallic bulk and insulating surface of 1T-TaSe2. Our work further reveals a new pathway for modulating two-dimensional materials that enables exploring strongly correlated systems across uncharted parameter space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of quantum‐enabled photonic technologies has opened new avenues for advanced illumination across diverse fields, including sensing, computing, materials, and integration. This review highlights how Quantum‐enhanced sensing and imaging exploit nonclassical correlations to attain unprecedented accuracy in chaotic environments. As well as guaranteeing secure communications, quantum cryptography, protected by physical principles, ensures unbreakable cryptographic key exchange. As quantum computing speed increases exponentially, previously unimplementable uses for classical computers become feasible. On‐chip integration enables the mass production of quantum photonic components for pervasive applications by facilitating miniaturization and scalability. A powerful and flexible platform is produced when classical and quantum systems are combined. Quantum spin liquids and other topological materials can maintain their quantum states while subject to decoherence. Despite challenges with decoherence, production, and commercialization, quantum photonics is an exciting new area of study that promises lighting techniques impossible with conventional optics. To realize this promise, researchers from several fields must work together to solve complex technical problems and decode fundamental physics. Finally, advances in quantum‐enabled photonics have the potential to evolve quantum photonic devices and cutting‐edge imaging methods and usher in a new age of lighting options based on quantum dots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of topologically-ordered states of matter is a long-standing goal at the interface of several subfields of the physical sciences. Such states feature intriguing physical properties such as long-range entanglement, emergent gauge fields and non-local correlations, and can aid in realization of scalable fault-tolerant quantum computation. However, these same features also make creation, detection, and characterization of topologically-ordered states particularly challenging. Motivated by recent experimental demonstrations, we introduce a paradigm for quantifying topological states—locally error-corrected decoration (LED)—by combining methods of error correction with ideas of renormalization-group flow. Our approach allows for efficient and robust identification of topological order, and is applicable in the presence of incoherent noise sources, making it particularly suitable for realistic experiments. We demonstrate the power of LED using numerical simulations of the toric code under a variety of perturbations. We subsequently apply it to an experimental realization, providing new insights into a quantum spin liquid created on a Rydberg-atom simulator. Finally, we extend LED to generic topological phases, including those with non-abelian order. Detection of topological phases in experiments is challenging, especially in the presence of incoherent noise. Cong et al. introduce a novel method combining error correction and renormalization-group flow and apply it to characterization of quantum spin liquid phases realized in a Rydberg-atom simulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid progress in simulation of strongly interacting quantum Hamiltonians, the challenge in characterizing unknown phases becomes a bottleneck for scientific progress. We demonstrate that a Quantum-Classical hybrid approach (QuCl) of mining sampled projective snapshots with interpretable classical machine learning can unveil signatures of seemingly featureless quantum states. The Kitaev-Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice under external magnetic field presents an ideal system to test QuCl, where simulations have found an intermediate gapless phase (IGP) sandwiched between known phases, launching a debate over its elusive nature. We use the correlator convolutional neural network, trained on labeled projective snapshots, in conjunction with regularization path analysis to identify signatures of phases. We show that QuCl reproduces known features of established phases. Significantly, we also identify a signature of the IGP in the spin channel perpendicular to the field direction, which we interpret as a signature of Friedel oscillations of gapless spinons forming a Fermi surface. Our predictions can guide future experimental searches for spin liquids. Characterizing quantum phases realized in simulation can be difficult, such as the re-entrant gapless phase of the Kitaev model induced by a magnetic field. Employing a quantum-classical hybrid approach that involves mining projective snapshots with interpretable classical machine learning, the authors uncovered Friedel oscillations of a spinon Fermi surface, providing support for a gapless quantum spin liquid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The emergence of exotic quantum phenomena in frustrated magnets is rapidly driving the development of quantum many-body physics, raising fundamental questions on the nature of quantum phase transitions. Here we unveil the behaviour of emergent symmetry involving two extraordinarily representative phenomena, i.e., the deconfined quantum critical point (DQCP) and the quantum spin liquid (QSL) state. Via large-scale tensor network simulations, we study a spatially anisotropic spin-1/2 square-lattice frustrated antiferromagnetic (AFM) model, namely the J 1 x - J 1 y - J 2 model, which contains anisotropic nearest-neighbor couplings J 1 x , J 1 y and the next nearest neighbor coupling J 2 . For small J 1 y / J 1 x , by tuning J 2 , a direct continuous transition between the AFM and valence bond solid phase is observed. With growing J 1 y / J 1 x , a gapless QSL phase gradually emerges between the AFM and VBS phases. We observe an emergent O(4) symmetry along the AFM–VBS transition line, which is consistent with the prediction of DQCP theory. Most surprisingly, we find that such an emergent O(4) symmetry holds for the whole QSL–VBS transition line as well. These findings reveal the intrinsic relationship between the QSL and DQCP from categorical symmetry point of view, and strongly constrain the quantum field theory description of the QSL phase. The phase diagram and critical exponents presented in this paper are of direct relevance to future experiments on frustrated magnets and cold atom systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On one hand electron or hole doping of quantum spin liquid (QSL) may unlock high‐temperature superconductivity and on the other hand it can disrupt the spin liquidity, giving rise to a magnetically ordered ground state. Recently, a 2D MOF, Cu3(HHTP)2 (HHTP ‐ 2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexahydroxytriphenylene), containing Cu(II) S=1/2 ${{ 1/2 }}$ frustrated spins in the Kagome lattice is emerging as a promising QSL candidate. Herein, we present an elegant in situ redox‐chemistry strategy of anchoring Cu3(HHTP)2 crystallites onto diamagnetic reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets, resulting in the formation of electron‐doped Cu3(HHTP)2‐rGO composite which exhibited a characteristic semiconducting behavior (5 K to 300 K) with high electrical conductivity of 70 S ⋅ m−1 and a carrier density of ~1.1×1018 cm−3 at 300 K. Remarkably, no magnetic transition in the Cu3(HHTP)2‐rGO composite was observed down to 1.5 K endorsing the robust spin liquidity of the 2D MOF Cu3(HHTP)2. Specific heat capacity measurements led to the estimation of the residual entropy values of 28 % and 34 % of the theoretically expected value for the pristine Cu3(HHTP)2 and Cu3(HHTP)2‐rGO composite, establishing the presence of strong quantum fluctuations down to 1.5 K (two times smaller than the value of the exchange interaction J). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion that phonons can carry pseudo‐angular momentum has many major consequences, including topologically protected phonon chirality, Berry curvature of phonon band structure, and the phonon Hall effect. When a phonon is resonantly coupled to an orbital state split by its crystal field environment, a so‐called vibronic bound state forms. Here, a vibronic bound state is observed in NaYbSe2, a quantum spin liquid candidate. In addition, field and polarization dependent Raman microscopy is used to probe an angular momentum transfer of ΔJz = ±ℏ between phonons and the crystalline electric field mediated by the vibronic bound stat. This angular momentum transfer between electronic and lattice subsystems provides new pathways for selective optical addressability of phononic angular momentum via electronic ancillary states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At TN ≃ 300K the layered insulator BaCoS2 transitions to a columnar antiferromagnet that signals non-negligible magnetic frustration despite the relatively high TN, all the more surprising given its quasi two-dimensional structure. Here, we show, by combining ab initio and model calculations, that the magnetic transition is an order-from-disorder phenomenon, which not only drives the columnar magnetic order, but also the inter-layer coherence responsible for the finite Néel transition temperature. This uncommon ordering mechanism, actively contributed by orbital degrees of freedom, hints at an abundance of low energy excitations above and across the Néel transition, in agreement with experimental evidence. The study of frustrated magnet systems has unveiled a range of novel physical phenomena and continues to attract interest for in fields such as quantum spin liquid theory and high-temperature superconductors. Here, the authors use ab-initio calculations and a spin-wave analysis to demonstrate that an order-from-disorder phenomenon contributes to the columnar antiferromagnet ordering of BaCoS2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At TN ≃ 300K the layered insulator BaCoS2 transitions to a columnar antiferromagnet that signals non-negligible magnetic frustration despite the relatively high TN, all the more surprising given its quasi two-dimensional structure. Here, we show, by combining ab initio and model calculations, that the magnetic transition is an order-from-disorder phenomenon, which not only drives the columnar magnetic order, but also the inter-layer coherence responsible for the finite Néel transition temperature. This uncommon ordering mechanism, actively contributed by orbital degrees of freedom, hints at an abundance of low energy excitations above and across the Néel transition, in agreement with experimental evidence. The study of frustrated magnet systems has unveiled a range of novel physical phenomena and continues to attract interest for in fields such as quantum spin liquid theory and high-temperature superconductors. Here, the authors use ab-initio calculations and a spin-wave analysis to demonstrate that an order-from-disorder phenomenon contributes to the columnar antiferromagnet ordering of BaCoS2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spin frustration, which results from geometric frustration and a systematical inability to satisfy all antiferromagnetic (AF) interactions between unpaired spins simultaneously, is under the spotlight for its importance in physics and materials science. Spin frustration is treated as the structural basis of quantum spin liquids (QSLs). Featuring flexible chemical structures, organic radical species exhibit great potential in building spin‐frustrated molecules and lattices. So far, the reported examples of spin‐frustrated organic radical compounds include triradicals, tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) radicals and derivatives, [Pd(dmit)2] compounds (dmit=1,3‐dithiol‐2‐thione‐4,5‐dithiolate), nitronyl nitroxides, fullerenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other heterocyclic compounds where the spin frustration is generated intra‐ or intermolecularly. In this Minireview, we provide a brief summary of the reported radical compounds that possess spin frustration. The related data, including magnetic exchange coupling parameters, spin models, frustration parameters, and crystal lattices, are summarized and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum spin liquids are elusive but paradigmatic examples of strongly correlated quantum states that are characterized by long-range quantum entanglement. Recently, signatures of a gapped topological Z 2 spin liquid have been observed in a system of Rydberg atoms; however, the full capability of these platforms to realize quantum spin liquids extends far beyond this state alone. Here, we propose the realization of a different class of spin liquids in a honeycomb array of Rydberg atoms. Exploring the system's quantum phase diagram using density-matrix renormalization group and exact diagonalization calculations, we identify several density-wave-ordered phases and a trimer spin liquid ground state with an emergent U(1) × U(1) local symmetry. This liquid state originates from superpositions of classical trimer configurations on the dual triangular lattice in the regime where third-nearest-neighbor atoms lie within the Rydberg blockade radius. Finally, we discuss the conditions to enhance the preparation fidelity of this state by a general Rydberg-blockade-based projection mechanism, test the robustness of the trimer spin liquid phase in a range of realistic parameters, and outline methods for its experimental detection. Quantum spin liquids, with their fractionalized excitations, are intriguing yet challenging to realise. In this work, the authors demonstrate the feasibility of preparing a trimer spin liquid in a honeycomb array of Rydberg atoms through numerical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum spin liquids (QSL) have emerged as a captivating subject within interacting spin systems that exhibit no magnetic ordering even at the lowest temperature accessible experimentally. However, definitive experimental evidence remains elusive. In light of the recent surge in theoretical and experimental interest in the half-filled Hubbard model on a triangular lattice, which offers the potential for stabilizing a chiral QSL, we investigate the electromagnetic signatures of this phase to facilitate experimental detection. Utilizing a combination of parton mean-field theory and unbiased density-matrix renormalization group calculations, we systematically examine the electrical charge and orbital electrical current associated with a spinon excitation in the chiral QSL. Additionally, we calculate the longitudinal and transverse optical conductivities below the Mott gap. Furthermore, employing quantum field theory analysis, we unravel the connection between spinon excitations and emergent as well as physical gauge fields. Our results demonstrate that the chiral QSL phase exhibits a distinct electromagnetic response, even within a Mott insulator regime. This finding holds great potential for enabling the experimental detection of this long-sought-after phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The notion that phonons can carry pseudo‐angular momentum has many major consequences, including topologically protected phonon chirality, Berry curvature of phonon band structure, and the phonon Hall effect. When a phonon is resonantly coupled to an orbital state split by its crystal field environment, a so‐called vibronic bound state forms. Here, a vibronic bound state is observed in NaYbSe2, a quantum spin liquid candidate. In addition, field and polarization dependent Raman microscopy is used to probe an angular momentum transfer of ΔJz = ±ℏ between phonons and the crystalline electric field mediated by the vibronic bound stat. This angular momentum transfer between electronic and lattice subsystems provides new pathways for selective optical addressability of phononic angular momentum via electronic ancillary states.

Detecting Majorana fermions in experimental realizations of the Kitaev honeycomb model is often complicated by non-trivial interactions inherent to potential spin liquid candidates. In this work, we identify several distinct thermodynamic signatures of massive, itinerant Majorana fermions within the well-established analytical paradigm of Landau-Fermi liquid theory. We find a qualitative and quantitative agreement between the salient features of our Landau-Majorana liquid theory and the Kitaev spin liquid candidate Ag3LiIr2O6. Our study presents strong evidence for a Fermi liquid-like ground state in the fundamental excitations of a honeycomb iridate, and opens new experimental avenues to detect itinerant Majorana fermions in condensed matter systems. While Majorana excitations are often considered to be a cornerstone for proposed quantum devices, their experimental detection has proven to be a significant challenge. Here, the authors theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that the Kitaev candidate material Ag3LiIr2O6 may support a Majorana-Fermi surface, which could potentially serve as a "smoking gun" for a quantum spin liquid ground state through the lens of specific heat data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detecting Majorana fermions in experimental realizations of the Kitaev honeycomb model is often complicated by non-trivial interactions inherent to potential spin liquid candidates. In this work, we identify several distinct thermodynamic signatures of massive, itinerant Majorana fermions within the well-established analytical paradigm of Landau-Fermi liquid theory. We find a qualitative and quantitative agreement between the salient features of our Landau-Majorana liquid theory and the Kitaev spin liquid candidate Ag3LiIr2O6. Our study presents strong evidence for a Fermi liquid-like ground state in the fundamental excitations of a honeycomb iridate, and opens new experimental avenues to detect itinerant Majorana fermions in condensed matter systems. While Majorana excitations are often considered to be a cornerstone for proposed quantum devices, their experimental detection has proven to be a significant challenge. Here, the authors theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that the Kitaev candidate material Ag3LiIr2O6 may support a Majorana-Fermi surface, which could potentially serve as a "smoking gun" for a quantum spin liquid ground state through the lens of specific heat data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frustration in magnetic materials arising from competing exchange interactions can prevent the system from adopting long-range magnetic order and can instead lead to a diverse range of novel quantum and topological states with exotic quasiparticle excitations. Here, we review prominent examples of such states, including magnetically-disordered and extensively degenerate spin ices with emergent magnetic monopole excitations, highly-entangled quantum spin liquids with fractional spinon excitations, topological order, and emergent gauge fields, as well as complex particle-like topological spin textures known as skyrmions. We provide an overview of recent advances in the search for magnetically-disordered candidate materials on the three-dimensional pyrochlore lattice and two-dimensional triangular, kagome and honeycomb lattices, the latter with bond-dependent Kitaev interactions, and on lattices supporting topological magnetism. We highlight experimental signatures of these often elusive phenomena and single out the most suitable experimental techniques that can be used to detect them. Our review also aims at providing a comprehensive guide for designing and investigating novel frustrated magnetic materials, with the potential of addressing some important open questions in contemporary condensed matter physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doped Mott insulators are the starting point for interesting physics such as high temperature superconductivity and quantum spin liquids. For multi-band Mott insulators, orbital selective ground states have been envisioned. However, orbital selective metals and Mott insulators have been difficult to realize experimentally. Here we demonstrate by photoemission spectroscopy how Ca2RuO4, upon alkali-metal surface doping, develops a single-band metal skin. Our dynamical mean field theory calculations reveal that homogeneous electron doping of Ca2RuO4 results in a multi-band metal. All together, our results provide evidence for an orbital-selective Mott insulator breakdown, which is unachievable via simple electron doping. Supported by a cluster model and cluster perturbation theory calculations, we demonstrate a type of skin metal-insulator transition induced by surface dopants that orbital-selectively hybridize with the bulk Mott state and in turn produce coherent in-gap states. Doping is a tried and tested method to tune the properties of a range of quantum materials either by introducing defects into the system or engineering the charge carrier concentration. Here, the authors use photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the effects of surface doping of alkali metals on the Mott insulator Ca2RuO4, revealing an orbital-selective surface metal-insulator transition induced by the surface-dopant interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doped Mott insulators are the starting point for interesting physics such as high temperature superconductivity and quantum spin liquids. For multi-band Mott insulators, orbital selective ground states have been envisioned. However, orbital selective metals and Mott insulators have been difficult to realize experimentally. Here we demonstrate by photoemission spectroscopy how Ca2RuO4, upon alkali-metal surface doping, develops a single-band metal skin. Our dynamical mean field theory calculations reveal that homogeneous electron doping of Ca2RuO4 results in a multi-band metal. All together, our results provide evidence for an orbital-selective Mott insulator breakdown, which is unachievable via simple electron doping. Supported by a cluster model and cluster perturbation theory calculations, we demonstrate a type of skin metal-insulator transition induced by surface dopants that orbital-selectively hybridize with the bulk Mott state and in turn produce coherent in-gap states. Doping is a tried and tested method to tune the properties of a range of quantum materials either by introducing defects into the system or engineering the charge carrier concentration. Here, the authors use photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the effects of surface doping of alkali metals on the Mott insulator Ca2RuO4, revealing an orbital-selective surface metal-insulator transition induced by the surface-dopant interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of electrons with the lattice in metals can lead to reduction of their kinetic energy to the point where they may form heavy, dressed quasiparticles—polarons. Unfortunately, polaronic lattice distortions are difficult to distinguish from more conventional charge- and spin-ordering phenomena at low temperatures. Here we present a study of local symmetry breaking of the lattice structure on the picosecond timescale in the prototype layered dichalcogenide Mott insulator 1T-TaS2 using X-ray pair-distribution function measurements. We clearly identify symmetry-breaking polaronic lattice distortions at temperatures well above the ordered phases, and record the evolution of broken symmetry states from 915 K to 15 K. The data imply that charge ordering is driven by polaron crystallization into a Wigner crystal-like state, rather than Fermi surface nesting or conventional electron-phonon coupling. At intermediate temperatures the local lattice distortions are found to be consistent with a quantum spin liquid state. The layered material 1T-TaS2 continues to attract attention due to its many correlated phases and metastable states. Bozin et al. report persistent symmetry-breaking polaronic distortions in the wide range of temperatures, which has implications for understanding the mechanisms of charge and spin ordered states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harnessing the enhanced light-matter coupling and quantum vacuum fluctuations resulting from mode volume compression in optical cavities is a promising route towards functionalizing quantum materials and realizing exotic states of matter. Here, we extend cavity quantum electrodynamical materials engineering to correlated magnetic systems, by demonstrating that a Fabry-Pérot cavity can be used to control the magnetic state of the proximate quantum spin liquid α-RuCl3. Depending on specific cavity properties such as the mode frequency, photon occupation, and strength of the light-matter coupling, any of the magnetic phases supported by the extended Kitaev model can be stabilized. In particular, in the THz regime, we show that the cavity vacuum fluctuations alone are sufficient to bring α-RuCl3 from a zigzag antiferromagnetic to a ferromagnetic state. By external pumping of the cavity in the few photon limit, it is further possible to push the system into the antiferromagnetic Kitaev quantum spin liquid state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological insulator phases of non-interacting particles have been generalized from periodic crystals to amorphous lattices, which raises the question whether topologically ordered quantum many-body phases may similarly exist in amorphous systems? Here we construct a soluble chiral amorphous quantum spin liquid by extending the Kitaev honeycomb model to random lattices with fixed coordination number three. The model retains its exact solubility but the presence of plaquettes with an odd number of sides leads to a spontaneous breaking of time reversal symmetry. We unearth a rich phase diagram displaying Abelian as well as a non-Abelian quantum spin liquid phases with a remarkably simple ground state flux pattern. Furthermore, we show that the system undergoes a finite-temperature phase transition to a conducting thermal metal state and discuss possible experimental realisations. Recently topological phases have been generalized to amorphous materials, but demonstrations have been limited to non-interacting particles. Cassella et al. show the emergence of chiral amorphous quantum spin liquid in an exactly soluble model by extending the Kitaev honeycomb model to random lattices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the effect of vacancies on the low-energy excitation spectrum of a quantum spin liquid realized in the exactly solvable Yao–Lee model [H. Yao and D.-H. Lee, Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 087205 (2011)]. Physically, vacancies can appear for different reasons (e.g., because of zero magnetic moments on the lattice, or the presence of nonmagnetic impurities, or a random reduction of local bonds of magnetic moments with the remaining lattice). It is shown numerically that the finite density of random vacancies in this model leads to the accumulation of states near zero energy, which can be detected from the change of the behavior of heat capacity at low temperatures. Moreover, it is shown that the low-energy modes are localized more strongly than remaining eigenmodes. This effect is illustrated using the inverse participation ratio (IPR). In the case of time reversal symmetry breaking (e.g., due to the presence of a magnetic field), a gap is opened in the fermion spectrum of the model, and vacancy-induced localized states appear. The energies of these states depend on the structure of the interactions responsible for the time inversion symmetry breaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kitaev exchange, a new paradigm in quantum magnetism research, occurs for 90° metal-ligand-metal links, t 2 g 5 transition ions, and sizable spin-orbit coupling. It is being studied in honeycomb compounds but also on triangular lattices. While for the former it is known by now that the Kitaev intersite couplings are ferromagnetic, for the latter the situation is unclear. Here we pin down the exchange mechanisms and determine the effective coupling constants in the t 2 g 5 triangular-lattice material NaRuO2, recently found to host a quantum spin liquid ground state. We show that, compared to honeycomb compounds, the characteristic triangular-lattice cation surroundings dramatically affect exchange paths and effective coupling parameters, changing the Kitaev interactions to antiferromagnetic. Quantum chemical analysis combined with subsequent effective spin model simulations provide perspective onto the nature of the experimentally observed quantum spin liquid—it seemingly implies fairly large antiferromagnetic second-neighbor isotropic exchange, and the atypical proximity to ferromagnetic order is related to ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor Heisenberg coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuing the exotic quantum spin liquid (QSL) state in the Kitaev material α-RuCl3 has intrigued great research interest recently. A fascinating question is on the possible existence of a field-induced QSL phase in this compound. Here we perform high-field magnetization measurements of α-RuCl3 up to 102 T employing the non-destructive and destructive pulsed magnets. Under the out-of-plane field along the c* axis (i.e., perpendicular to the honeycomb plane), two quantum phase transitions are uncovered at respectively 35 T and about 83 T, between which lies an intermediate phase as the predicted QSL. This is in sharp contrast to the case with in-plane fields, where a single transition is found at around 7 T and the intermediate QSL phase is absent instead. By measuring the magnetization data with fields tilted from the c* axis up to 90° (i.e., in-plane direction), we obtain the field-angle phase diagram that contains the zigzag, paramagnetic, and QSL phases. Based on the K-J-Γ- Γ ′ model for α-RuCl3 with a large Kitaev term we perform density matrix renormalization group simulations and reproduce the quantum phase diagram in excellent agreement with experiments. Recent theoretical work predicted an intermediate quantum spin liquid state in α-RuCl3 in out-of-plane magnetic field. Zhou et al. present experimental evidence for this state between two magnetic transitions identified by high-field magnetization measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum spin liquid ground state has been observed in Y2CuTiO6. The compound was prepared using solid-state synthesis method. Y2CuTiO6 crystallized in non-perovskite hexagonal structure with space group, P63cm (#185). Ti4+ and Cu2+ ions are distributed randomly in the B site along the ab-plane with trigonal bipyramidal coordination of oxygen ions and separated along the c-axis by Y-O7 layers. Ambient-temperature Raman spectra revealed vibrational modes corresponding to hexagonal structure. The Raman spectrum displayed multiple low-intensity, broad peaks that could have resulted as a consequence of charge and geometrical disorders between Cu2+ and Ti4+ ions on the triangular lattice. Room-temperature photoelectron spectroscopy has been performed to determine the oxidation states of the respective ions present in the titled compound. Temperature-dependent magnetic molar susceptibility plots under zero field cooled and field cooled modes are superimposed on each other without any anomalies implying the absence of long-range magnetic ordering down to 2 K. Curie-Weiss fitting of high-temperature magnetization data nevertheless estimated a significantly high temperature of − 116 K which denotes antiferromagnetic interactions. Temperature-dependent heat capacity data measured in 0.100 K < T < 280 K in zero magnetic field and 0.1 K < T < 60 K for various fields complemented the magnetization studies. The magneto-thermal response of this material at low temperatures shows scaling behaviour consistent with random singlet formation on Cu2+ sites down to 100 mK. Absence of long-range magnetic order in the magnetic susceptibility or in the specific heat measurements of Y2CuTiO6 suggests the quantum spin liquid ground state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum spin liquid ground state has been observed in Y2CuTiO6. The compound was prepared using solid-state synthesis method. Y2CuTiO6 crystallized in non-perovskite hexagonal structure with space group, P63cm (#185). Ti4+ and Cu2+ ions are distributed randomly in the B site along the ab-plane with trigonal bipyramidal coordination of oxygen ions and separated along the c-axis by Y-O7 layers. Ambient-temperature Raman spectra revealed vibrational modes corresponding to hexagonal structure. The Raman spectrum displayed multiple low-intensity, broad peaks that could have resulted as a consequence of charge and geometrical disorders between Cu2+ and Ti4+ ions on the triangular lattice. Room-temperature photoelectron spectroscopy has been performed to determine the oxidation states of the respective ions present in the titled compound. Temperature-dependent magnetic molar susceptibility plots under zero field cooled and field cooled modes are superimposed on each other without any anomalies implying the absence of long-range magnetic ordering down to 2 K. Curie-Weiss fitting of high-temperature magnetization data nevertheless estimated a significantly high temperature of − 116 K which denotes antiferromagnetic interactions. Temperature-dependent heat capacity data measured in 0.100 K < T < 280 K in zero magnetic field and 0.1 K < T < 60 K for various fields complemented the magnetization studies. The magneto-thermal response of this material at low temperatures shows scaling behaviour consistent with random singlet formation on Cu2+ sites down to 100 mK. Absence of long-range magnetic order in the magnetic susceptibility or in the specific heat measurements of Y2CuTiO6 suggests the quantum spin liquid ground state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]