Magnetic field induced competing phases in spin-orbital entangled Kitaev magnets

Abstract

Using simulated annealing, the authors map out the classical phase diagrams of spin-orbital entangled Kitaev magnets under an external magnetic field. The paper uncovers a series of magnetic orders with large unit cells in a window of intermediate fields. The magnon excitations arising from these orders form dense and flat bands, and contribute to an unusually large thermal Hall conductivity, which may explain some experimentally observed features of the Kitaev spin liquid candidate $\ensuremath{\alpha}$-RuCl${}_{3}$.

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