Kitaev interactions in the van der Waals antiferromagnet VBr3

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Kao, Zeyu, Gu, Yimeng, Gu, Yiqing, Zhang, Hao, Zheng, Shiyi, Murai, Naoki, Ohira-Kawamura, Seiko, Zhao, Jun
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Kao, Zeyu
Gu, Yimeng
Gu, Yiqing
Zhang, Hao
Zheng, Shiyi
Murai, Naoki
Ohira-Kawamura, Seiko
Zhao, Jun
author_facet Kao, Zeyu
Gu, Yimeng
Gu, Yiqing
Zhang, Hao
Zheng, Shiyi
Murai, Naoki
Ohira-Kawamura, Seiko
Zhao, Jun
contents Van der Waals materials hosting Kitaev interactions are promising platforms for exploring exotic quantum phenomena. Here, we report inelastic neutron scattering investigations of the van der Waals antiferromagnet VBr3, which forms a honeycomb lattice structure at room temperature and exhibits zigzag-type magnetic order below 26.5 K. Our observations reveal distinctive low-energy spin excitations arising from gamma, gamma', and M' points, each featuring a spin gap of around 2.5 meV. The overall spin excitation spectra can be effectively described by a spin Hamiltonian incorporating substantial nearest-neighbor Kitaev and biquadratic interactions, along with Heisenberg interactions. Our findings not only establish VBr3 as a new Kitaev magnet but also suggest that ligand engineering may provide a promising strategy to modulate Kitaev interactions, offering new opportunities for designing Kitaev materials with tailored quantum properties.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_05001
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Kitaev interactions in the van der Waals antiferromagnet VBr3
Kao, Zeyu
Gu, Yimeng
Gu, Yiqing
Zhang, Hao
Zheng, Shiyi
Murai, Naoki
Ohira-Kawamura, Seiko
Zhao, Jun
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
Van der Waals materials hosting Kitaev interactions are promising platforms for exploring exotic quantum phenomena. Here, we report inelastic neutron scattering investigations of the van der Waals antiferromagnet VBr3, which forms a honeycomb lattice structure at room temperature and exhibits zigzag-type magnetic order below 26.5 K. Our observations reveal distinctive low-energy spin excitations arising from gamma, gamma', and M' points, each featuring a spin gap of around 2.5 meV. The overall spin excitation spectra can be effectively described by a spin Hamiltonian incorporating substantial nearest-neighbor Kitaev and biquadratic interactions, along with Heisenberg interactions. Our findings not only establish VBr3 as a new Kitaev magnet but also suggest that ligand engineering may provide a promising strategy to modulate Kitaev interactions, offering new opportunities for designing Kitaev materials with tailored quantum properties.
title Kitaev interactions in the van der Waals antiferromagnet VBr3
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.05001