Controlling the RKKY interaction and heat transport in a Kitaev spin liquid via $Z_2$ flux walls

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how $Z_2$ flux walls in Kitaev spin liquids can control heat transport and magnetic interactions by suppressing Majorana fermion-mediated effects, enabling domain separation.

Contribution

It introduces a method to manipulate heat and magnetic interactions in Kitaev spin liquids using $Z_2$ flux walls, a novel control mechanism.

Findings

Flux walls significantly suppress RKKY interactions at low temperatures.

Flux walls block heat transfer between domains in Kitaev spin liquids.

Control of flux configurations enables domain-specific properties.

Abstract

Kitaev spin liquids (KSLs) contain both itinerant Majorana fermions and localized $Z_2$ flux excitations. The mobile fermions transport energy, while the fluxes hinder heat flow. By controlling the flux configuration, one can separate a KSL into different domains via $Z_2$ flux walls. We show that at low temperatures, the wall significantly suppresses the Majorana-mediated Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction and blocks the heat transfer between domains.