Dynamical anyon generation in Kitaev honeycomb non-Abelian spin liquids

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to generate non-Abelian anyons dynamically in Kitaev honeycomb spin liquids, enabling potential topological quantum computing without external magnetic fields.

Contribution

It introduces a tunable bridge protocol for creating non-Abelian anyons in Kitaev materials, combining analytical and simulation results for practical implementation.

Findings

Non-Abelian anyons can be generated with O(1) probability.

The protocol is feasible with current magnetic tunnel junction technology.

It enables topological qubit experiments at zero magnetic field.

Abstract

Relativistic Mott insulators known as 'Kitaev materials' potentially realize spin liquids hosting non-Abelian anyons. Motivated by fault-tolerant quantum-computing applications in this setting, we introduce a dynamical anyon-generation protocol that exploits universal edge physics. The setup features holes in the spin liquid, which define energetically cheap locations for non-Abelian anyons, connected by a narrow bridge that can be tuned between spin liquid and topologically trivial phases. We show that modulating the bridge from trivial to spin liquid over intermediate time scales -- quantified by analytics and extensive simulations -- deposits non-Abelian anyons into the holes with O(1) probability. The required bridge manipulations can be implemented by integrating the Kitaev material into magnetic tunnel junction arrays that engender locally tunable exchange fields. Combined with existing readout strategies, our protocol reveals a path to topological qubit experiments in Kitaev materials at zero applied magnetic field.