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arXiv · 2003.13102

Reentrant incommensurate order and anomalous magnetic torque in the Kitaev magnet $\beta$-$\text{Li}_2\text{IrO}_3$

Mengqun Li·Ioannis Rousochatzakis·Natalia B. Perkins
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Abstract

We present a theoretical study of the response of $\beta$-$\text{Li}_2\text{IrO}_3$ under external magnetic fields in the $ab$, $bc$ and $ac$ crystallographic planes. The results are based on the minimal nearest-neighbor $J$-$K$-$\Gamma$ model and reveal a rich intertwining of field-induced phases and magnetic phase transitions with distinctive signatures that can be probed directly via torque magnetometry. Most saliently, we observe: i) an unusual reentrance of the incommensurate counter-rotating order for fields in the $ab$-plane, and ii) a set of abrupt torque discontinuities which are particularly large for fields rotating in the $bc$ plane, and whose characteristic shape resembles closely the ones observed in the 3D Kitaev magnet $\gamma$-$\text{Li}_2\text{IrO}_3$. An experimental confirmation of these predictions will pave the way for an accurate determination of all relevant microscopic parameters of this 3D Kitaev magnet.

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Mengqun Li, Ioannis Rousochatzakis, Natalia B. Perkins. 2020-03-29. Reentrant incommensurate order and anomalous magnetic torque in the Kitaev magnet $\beta$-$\text{Li}_2\text{IrO}_3$. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevresearch.2.033328

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