Probing Kitaev Models on Small Lattices

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that characteristic spin-spin correlation patterns in small Kitaev lattices can be used experimentally to distinguish them from other spin models, even with finite size and thermal effects.

Contribution

It introduces a symmetry-based method using exact diagonalization to identify Kitaev models on small lattices, resilient to perturbations and external magnetic fields.

Findings

Characteristic correlation patterns persist despite finite size and thermal effects.

Patterns are robust against small residual interactions.

External magnetic fields do not critically alter the correlation patterns.

Abstract

We address the following important question: how to distinguish Kitaev models experimentally realized on small lattices from other non-topological interacting spin models. Based on symmetry arguments and exact diagonalization, we show that a particularly characteristic pattern of spin-spin correlations survives despite finite size, open boundary and thermal effects. The pattern is robust against small residual perturbing interactions and can be utilized to distinguish the Kitaev interactions from other interactions such as antiferromagnetic Heisenberg interactions. The effect of external magnetic field is also considered and found to be not critical.