arXiv · 2304.13236
Bond-dependent anisotropy and magnon decay in cobalt-based Kitaev triangular antiferromagnet
Abstract
The Kitaev model, a honeycomb network of spins with bond-dependent anisotropic interactions, is a rare example of having a quantum spin liquid ground state. Although most Kitaev model candidate materials eventually order magnetically due to inevitable non-Kitaev terms, their bond-dependent anisotropy manifests in unusual spin dynamics. It has recently been suggested that bond-dependent anisotropy can stabilise novel magnetic phases and exotic spin dynamics on the geometrically frustrated triangular lattice. However, few materials have been identified with simultaneous geometric frustration and bond-dependent anisotropy. Here, we report a frustrated triangular lattice with bond-dependent anisotropy in the cobalt-based triangular van der Waals antiferromagnet CoI2. Its momentum and energy-resolved spin dynamics exhibit substantial magnon breakdown and complex level repulsion, as measured by inelastic neutron scattering. A thorough examination of excitations in both the paramagnetic and magnetically ordered states reveals that the bond-dependent anisotropy is the origin of the spiral order and the magnon breakdown found in CoI2. Our result paves the way toward a new research direction for the Kitaev model with geometrical frustration.
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Chaebin Kim, Sujin Kim, Pyeongjae Park, Taehun Kim, Jaehong Jeong, Seiko Ohira-Kawamura, Naoki Murai, Kenji Nakajima, A. L. Chernyshev, Martin Mourigal, Sung-Jin Kim, Je-Geun Park. 2023-04-26. Bond-dependent anisotropy and magnon decay in cobalt-based Kitaev triangular antiferromagnet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02180-7
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