Strongly frustrated triangular spin lattice emerging from triplet dimer formation in honeycomb Li2IrO3

Nature Communications
Satoshi NishimotoJeroen van den Brink

Abstract

Iridium oxides with a honeycomb lattice have been identified as platforms for the much anticipated Kitaev topological spin liquid: the spin-orbit entangled states of Ir(4+) in principle generate precisely the required type of anisotropic exchange. However, other magnetic couplings can drive the system away from the spin-liquid phase. With this in mind, here we disentangle the different magnetic interactions in Li2IrO3, a honeycomb iridate with two crystallographically inequivalent sets of adjacent Ir sites. Our ab initio many-body calculations show that, while both Heisenberg and Kitaev nearest-neighbour couplings are present, on one set of Ir-Ir bonds the former dominates, resulting in the formation of spin-triplet dimers. The triplet dimers frame a strongly frustrated triangular lattice and by exact cluster diagonalization we show that they remain protected in a wide region of the phase diagram.

References

Nov 1, 1988·Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter·P Chandra, B Doucot
Jan 1, 1990·Physical Review Letters·P ChandraA I Larkin
Nov 13, 2003·Physical Review Letters·Cédric WeberFrédéric Mila
Aug 7, 2007·Physical Review Letters·G BaskaranR Shankar
Dec 31, 2008·Physical Review Letters·V PardoJ Rivas
Mar 12, 2010·Nature·Leon Balents
Sep 28, 2010·Physical Review Letters·Jirí ChaloupkaGiniyat Khaliullin
Mar 17, 2011·Physical Review Letters·K S TikhonovA Yu Kitaev
Feb 23, 2012·Scientific Reports·Liviu HozoiJeroen van den Brink
May 1, 2012·Physical Review Letters·Yogesh SinghP Gegenwart
May 1, 2012·Physical Review Letters·S K ChoiJ Taylor
Mar 19, 2013·Physical Review Letters·Jiří ChaloupkaGiniyat Khaliullin
Mar 4, 2014·Physical Review Letters·Jeffrey G RauHae-Young Kee

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jul 13, 2016·Scientific Reports·Vamshi M KatukuriJeroen van den Brink
Sep 28, 2016·Inorganic Chemistry·Sun Woo KimMartha Greenblatt
Feb 6, 2017·Chemistry : a European Journal·Beluvalli E PrasadClaudia Felser
Sep 16, 2017·Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter : an Institute of Physics Journal·Stephen M WinterRoser Valentí
Aug 5, 2017·Physical Review Letters·S-H BaekB Büchner
Jul 21, 2016·Nature Communications·Kasper S PedersenRodolphe Clérac
Aug 20, 2020·Dalton Transactions : an International Journal of Inorganic Chemistry·Shu GuoR J Cava
Apr 28, 2018·Scientific Reports·M K WallaceM A Subramanian
Nov 24, 2018·Physical Review Letters·Ravi YadavJeroen van den Brink
Jul 28, 2019·Physical Review Letters·Preetha SahaGia-Wei Chern
Apr 22, 2017·Physical Review Letters·Ioannis Rousochatzakis, Natalia B Perkins
Jun 23, 2018·Physical Review Letters·M MajumderP Gegenwart
Feb 13, 2021·Chemical Society Reviews·Godwill Mbiti KanyoloHajime Matsumoto
Apr 23, 2020·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Chunyu CuiChunsheng Wang
Oct 6, 2017·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Mykola AbramchukFazel Tafti
Oct 7, 2021·Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter : an Institute of Physics Journal·Chaebin KimJe-Geun Park

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
inelastic neutron scattering
neutron diffraction

Software Mentioned

Molpro

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.