Geometry dependence of the thermal Hall effect in chiral spin liquids

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteur principal: Halász, Gábor B.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Halász, Gábor B.
author_facet Halász, Gábor B.
contents Recent thermal-transport experiments on the Kitaev magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$ highlight the challenge in identifying chiral quantum spin liquids through their quantized thermal Hall effect. Here, we propose that variations in the underlying sample geometry -- for example, the introduction of appropriate constrictions -- reveal unique aspects of the thermal Hall effect and can be used to determine its origin. By studying standard phenomenological heat-transport equations based on minimal assumptions, we show that, whereas a conventional thermal Hall effect due to, e.g., phonons or magnons is completely geometry independent, a thermal Hall effect originating from a chiral fermion edge mode is significantly enhanced by constrictions at low temperatures. This unique geometry-dependent signature provides a practical approach for identifying chiral spin liquids in candidate materials like $α$-RuCl$_3$ using currently available thermal-transport experiments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_03879
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Geometry dependence of the thermal Hall effect in chiral spin liquids
Halász, Gábor B.
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Recent thermal-transport experiments on the Kitaev magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$ highlight the challenge in identifying chiral quantum spin liquids through their quantized thermal Hall effect. Here, we propose that variations in the underlying sample geometry -- for example, the introduction of appropriate constrictions -- reveal unique aspects of the thermal Hall effect and can be used to determine its origin. By studying standard phenomenological heat-transport equations based on minimal assumptions, we show that, whereas a conventional thermal Hall effect due to, e.g., phonons or magnons is completely geometry independent, a thermal Hall effect originating from a chiral fermion edge mode is significantly enhanced by constrictions at low temperatures. This unique geometry-dependent signature provides a practical approach for identifying chiral spin liquids in candidate materials like $α$-RuCl$_3$ using currently available thermal-transport experiments.
title Geometry dependence of the thermal Hall effect in chiral spin liquids
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.03879