Exploring quantum spin liquid excitations in a Kitaev material through electronic transport measurements at low temperatures

POSTER

Abstract

Alpha-RuCl3 is a top candidate for the experimental realization of The Kitaev Model, an exactly solvable model for moments in a honeycomb lattice with direction dependent interactions. In materials such as alpha-RuCl3, interactions beyond the Kitaev model lead to an anti-ferromagnetic zizag state below 7K. Our previous electronic transport measurements have identified Efros-Shklovskii Variable-Range Hopping in a temperature range between 7K and 40K, deviating from this transport mechanism in a regime of a long range magnetic order, below 7K. Above 40K, the dominant transport mechanism is thermal activation [1]. Here, we present our current efforts to understand our results within the theory of quantum spin liquid fluctuations.

[1] P. Barfield, V. Tran, D. Bergner, M. Martinez, C Ojeda-Aristizabal et al Appl. Phys. Lett. 122, 243102 (2023)

*This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under award number DE-SC0018154. Funding for travel was provided by the Cal. State. Long Beach and the Ohio State University Partnership for Education and Research in Topological Materials, a National Science Foundation PREM, under Grant No. 2425133.

Publication: P. Barfield, V. Tran, D. Bergner, M. Martinez, C Ojeda-Aristizabal et al Appl. Phys. Lett. 122, 243102 (2023)

Presenters

  • Richard P Gibbs

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach

Authors

  • Richard P Gibbs

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach

  • Patrick Taylor Barfield

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach

  • Vinh Tran

    • University of California, Irvine
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach

  • Maya H Martinez

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach
    • Stanford University

  • Vy Nguyen

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach

  • Michael R Peterson

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach

  • Claudia Ojeda-Aristizabal

    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University, Long Beach
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University Long Beach
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy California State University Long Beach
    • Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University of Long Beach