Tuning the magnetic properties of Kitaev materials via the antiferromagnetic proximity effect: Novel phases and application to an $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$/MnPS$_3$ bilayer

TL;DR

This paper explores how interfacing Kitaev materials with antiferromagnetic van der Waals layers can induce novel magnetic phases, using theoretical models and first-principles simulations to suggest potential experimental realizations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that antiferromagnetic proximity effects can tune the magnetic phases of Kitaev materials, revealing new phases and guiding heterostructure design.

Findings

Effective staggered magnetic field induces novel phases in Kitaev monolayers.

Identification of potential phases including spin liquids, nematic, and skyrmion crystals.

First-principles simulations suggest feasible heterobilayer realizations.

Abstract

In recent years, the increasing level of control over van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures has opened new routes to tune the properties of quantum materials. Motivated by these developments, we examine the potential consequences of interfacing a Kitaev honeycomb magnet, such as $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$, with a nearly lattice-matched vdW antiferromagnet. By combining perturbation theory, exact diagonalization, and a classical energy-minimization method, we show that an effective staggered magnetic field originating from the vdW antiferromagnet can drive a monolayer of a Kitaev material into various novel phases, including an antichiral Kitaev spin liquid, a nonmagnetic nematic phase, and different types of skyrmion crystals. We then apply first-principle simulations to assess the prospect of concretely realizing this setup in a heterobilayer of $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ and the easy-axis antiferromagnet MnPS$_3$.