Majorana-fermion origin of the planar thermal Hall effect in the Kitaev magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Imamura, K., Suetsugu, S., Mizukami, Y., Yoshida, Y., Hashimoto, K., Ohtsuka, K., Kasahara, Y., Kurita, N., Tanaka, H., Noh, P., Nasu, J., Moon, E. -G., Matsuda, Y., Shibauchi, T.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Imamura, K.
Suetsugu, S.
Mizukami, Y.
Yoshida, Y.
Hashimoto, K.
Ohtsuka, K.
Kasahara, Y.
Kurita, N.
Tanaka, H.
Noh, P.
Nasu, J.
Moon, E. -G.
Matsuda, Y.
Shibauchi, T.
author_facet Imamura, K.
Suetsugu, S.
Mizukami, Y.
Yoshida, Y.
Hashimoto, K.
Ohtsuka, K.
Kasahara, Y.
Kurita, N.
Tanaka, H.
Noh, P.
Nasu, J.
Moon, E. -G.
Matsuda, Y.
Shibauchi, T.
contents The field-induced quantum disordered state of layered honeycomb magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$ is a prime candidate for Kitaev spin liquids hosting Majorana fermions and non-Abelian anyons. Recent observations of anomalous planar thermal Hall effect demonstrate a topological edge mode, but whether it originates from Majorana fermions or bosonic magnons remains controversial. Here we distinguish these origins from low-temperature measurements of high-resolution specific heat and thermal Hall conductivity with rotating in-plane fields. In the honeycomb bond direction, a distinct closure of the low-energy bulk gap is observed concomitantly with the sign reversal of the Hall effect. General discussions of topological bands show that this is the hallmark of an angle-rotation-induced topological transition of fermions, providing conclusive evidence for the Majorana-fermion origin of the thermal Hall effect in $α$-RuCl$_3$.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2305_10619
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Majorana-fermion origin of the planar thermal Hall effect in the Kitaev magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$
Imamura, K.
Suetsugu, S.
Mizukami, Y.
Yoshida, Y.
Hashimoto, K.
Ohtsuka, K.
Kasahara, Y.
Kurita, N.
Tanaka, H.
Noh, P.
Nasu, J.
Moon, E. -G.
Matsuda, Y.
Shibauchi, T.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
The field-induced quantum disordered state of layered honeycomb magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$ is a prime candidate for Kitaev spin liquids hosting Majorana fermions and non-Abelian anyons. Recent observations of anomalous planar thermal Hall effect demonstrate a topological edge mode, but whether it originates from Majorana fermions or bosonic magnons remains controversial. Here we distinguish these origins from low-temperature measurements of high-resolution specific heat and thermal Hall conductivity with rotating in-plane fields. In the honeycomb bond direction, a distinct closure of the low-energy bulk gap is observed concomitantly with the sign reversal of the Hall effect. General discussions of topological bands show that this is the hallmark of an angle-rotation-induced topological transition of fermions, providing conclusive evidence for the Majorana-fermion origin of the thermal Hall effect in $α$-RuCl$_3$.
title Majorana-fermion origin of the planar thermal Hall effect in the Kitaev magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.10619