The spin-orbit assisted Mott insulator α-RuCl_(3) is a prime candidate for material realization of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid.While little attention has been paid to charge degrees of freedom,charge effects,such ...The spin-orbit assisted Mott insulator α-RuCl_(3) is a prime candidate for material realization of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid.While little attention has been paid to charge degrees of freedom,charge effects,such as electric polarization,may arise in this system.Here,we report distortion-induced local electric polarization in α-RuCl_(3) as evidenced by single-crystal X-ray diffraction,second harmonic generation(SHG)and dielectric measurements.The SHG signal appears at room temperature and develops substantially in the Kitaev paramagnetic state when short-range spin correlations come into play.Despite sizable pyroelectric currents in the Kitaev paramagnetic state,the absence of hysteresis in the polarization-electric field(P-E)points to the shortrange nature of electric polarization.This localized electric polarization is likely the result of distortion-induced charge dimerization,achieved through virtual hopping-induced charge redistribution.In addition,the electric polarization is boosted by short-range spin correlations via spin-phonon coupling in the Kitaev paramagnetic state.Our results emphasize the importance of charge degrees of freedom in α-RuCl_(3),which establish a novel platform to investigate charge effects in Kitaev materials.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.12047564,and 51725104)the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.12227806)+4 种基金the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11974036,and 11834014)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.2024CDJXY022)the Chinesisch-Deutsche Mobilit?tsprogamm of Chinesisch-Deutsche Zentrum für Wissenschaftsf?rderung(Grant No.M-0496)the Open Fund of the China Spallation Neutron Source Songshan Lake Science City(Grant No.DG2431351H)funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(DFG,German Research Foundation)(Grant No.277146847-CRC 1238)。
文摘The spin-orbit assisted Mott insulator α-RuCl_(3) is a prime candidate for material realization of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid.While little attention has been paid to charge degrees of freedom,charge effects,such as electric polarization,may arise in this system.Here,we report distortion-induced local electric polarization in α-RuCl_(3) as evidenced by single-crystal X-ray diffraction,second harmonic generation(SHG)and dielectric measurements.The SHG signal appears at room temperature and develops substantially in the Kitaev paramagnetic state when short-range spin correlations come into play.Despite sizable pyroelectric currents in the Kitaev paramagnetic state,the absence of hysteresis in the polarization-electric field(P-E)points to the shortrange nature of electric polarization.This localized electric polarization is likely the result of distortion-induced charge dimerization,achieved through virtual hopping-induced charge redistribution.In addition,the electric polarization is boosted by short-range spin correlations via spin-phonon coupling in the Kitaev paramagnetic state.Our results emphasize the importance of charge degrees of freedom in α-RuCl_(3),which establish a novel platform to investigate charge effects in Kitaev materials.
