Multinode quantum spin liquids in extended Kitaev honeycomb models: the view from variational Monte Carlo

Abstract

We discuss the discovery by variational Monte Carlo (VMC) methods of a series of multinode quantum spin liquids (QSLs) in extended Kitaev models on the honeycomb lattice. Like the gapless Kitaev spin liquid with its two nodes at K and K$^\prime$, these multinode QSLs are characterized by an emergent Z$_2$ gauge structure and a discrete number of symmetry-protected Majorana cones in their low-energy excitation spectrum. Because the cones are gapped by weak magnetic fields, nonzero Chern numbers are obtained and the ground state becomes one of many possible Abelian or non-Abelian chiral spin liquids. Here we focus on the projective symmetry group (PSG)-guided VMC approach to the Kitaev model with various symmetry-allowed extended interactions. Based on the VMC phase diagrams of these models, we propose a framework for the classification of nodal QSLs that includes the PSG, the chiralities of the cones, and the way in which the cones are symmetry-related. At present, the known candidate Kitaev materials seem to lie outside the parameter regimes of the multinode QSL phases. However, with more than 100 Z$_2$ PSGs for spin-orbit-coupled states on the honeycomb lattice, we anticipate that more than one multinode QSL will be realized experimentally in future work.