Pursuit of the quantum spin liquid in the 2D limit

The quantum spin liquid (QSL) is a phase of matter in which quantum mechanical fluctuations between entangled spin states propagate in a frustrated spin system. Excitations from this phase are expected to exhibit fractionalized quasiparticle statistics in the form of artificial gauge fields and Majorana fermions, and the QSL is thought to be potential precursor to high-Tc superconductivity. In 2014, the layered Mott insulator alpha-ruthenium(III) chloride (α-RuCl3) was identified as a candidate to host a Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL). The majority of work to date has been on bulk α-RuCl3, and has produced compelling evidence of a proximate-QSL state and signatures of fractionalized excitations. By mechanically exfoliating (peeling apart) α-RuCl3 crystals, we may probe this material in the few- to single-layer limit. This allows us to create novel device structures in which we can uniquely tune the properties of α-RuCl3, by application of external magnetic fields or fabrication of heterostructures by mechanically stacking layers of α-RuCl3 on other materials. In this graduate seminar, I will provide an overview of research pathways aimed to observe the QSL phase in α-RuCl3 in the 2D limit.