Possible Kitaev physics in the honeycomb material Ag3LiIr2O6

Quantum spin liquids (QSL) are states of matter in which a ground state with long-range magnetic order is prevented in spite of the presence of strong nearest neighbor magnetic interactions. One approach to find such systems is through geometric frustration. Another route to obtaining a QSL was suggested by the Kitaev model which has emergent excitations with fractional statistics. In this model, the spins are arranged on a honeycomb with ferromagnetic interactions between a specific component of a spin with each of its three nearest neighbors. Presence of such strongly bond/direction-dependent interactions can be achieved through strong spin-orbit coupling. We will examine Ag3LiIr2O6 (with honeycomb layers) as a possible Kitaev QSL. We will measure the muon relaxation rate with temperature to look for signatures of the two kinds of majorana fermion excitations predicted by theory.