Abstract
Quantum spin-liquid van der Waals magnets such as TaS$_2$, TaSe$_2$, and RuCl$_3$ provide a natural platform to explore new exotic phenomena associated with spinon physics, whose properties can be controlled by exchange proximity with ferromagnetic insulators such as CrBr$_3$. Here we put forward a twisted van der Waals heterostructure based on a quantum spin-liquid bilayer encapsulated between ferromagnetic insulators. We demonstrate the emergence of spinon flat bands and topological spinon states in such heterostructure, where the emergence of a topological gap is driven by the twist. We further show that the spinon bandstructure can be controlled via exchange proximity effect to the ferromagnetic leads. We finally show how by combining small magnetic fields with tunneling spectroscopy, magnetically encapsulated heterostructures provide a way of characterizing the nature of the quantum spin-liquid state. Our results put forward twisted quantum spin-liquid bilayers as potential platforms for exotic moire spinon phenomena, demonstrating the versatility of magnetic van der Waals heterostructures.
Highlights
Magnetic van der Waals materials have risen as a highly versatile family of compounds in the two-dimensional realm [1,2,3,4]
We show that twist engineering creates spinon flat bands at a specific twisting angle, with a topological gap opening leading to in-gap spinon edge modes
We have shown that a van der Waals heterostructure based on a magnetically encapsulated bilayer quantum spin-liquid (QSL) allows designing controllable spinon physics, and detecting moire spinons
Summary
Magnetic van der Waals materials have risen as a highly versatile family of compounds in the two-dimensional realm [1,2,3,4]. Specific magnetic van der Waals materials such as TaS2, TaSe2, and RuCl3 provide a realization of an exotic phase of matter, quantum spin-liquid (QSL) states [16,17,18,19]. Magnetic van der Waals materials offer new directions for the engineering and detection of QSL, by exploiting the large flexibility of stacking and twisting of moiré systems. The versatility offered by stacked van der Waals heterostructures motivates the search for analogous phenomena in the realm of van der Waals magnets [59,60,61] that can lead to novel spinon phenomena in moiré quantum spin liquids. Our results put forward magnetic van der Waals heterostructures formed by ferromagnets and QSLs as a tunable platform to explore and probe spinon phenomena in moiré systems.
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