Magnetic ground state in the Kitaev honeycomb-lattice antiferromagnet cancicate Yb2Ba9Si6O24

Quantum spin liquid (QSL) is a disordered state where quantum fluctuations suppress magnetic ordering. Strong entanglement between magnetic moments enables topological excitations, essential for robust quantum computing. Kitaev model of S = 1/2 spins on a honeycomb lattice coupled by bond-direction dependent interactions is a rare case of an exactly solvable model with QSL ground state, and thus highly appealing. Yet, candidate materials are scarce and hindered by additional interactions and structural imperfections. We propose to study a magnetic ground state of a new honeycomb lattice compound Yb2Si6Ba9O24 involving Yb3+ magnetic ions that have highly localized 4f orbitals and promise less distortion than other systems. The understanding of the magnetic ordering will alow for determination of the spin Hamilotinan and hereby reveal how close is this system to a perfect Kitave model.