Theoretical Physics Seminar: Matthias Gohlke

This is the 22nd biweekly session of the OIST Theoretical Physics Seminar.
In this seminar series, we pretend to have a theoretical physics department, and tell each other informal stories over drinks and snacks.

Speaker: Matthias Gohlke (Quantum what's the Matter).
Title: "Kitaev's honeycomb model: an exactly solvable quantum spin liquid"

The Kitaev model [1] is a model of spin-1/2 constituents on the 
honeycomb lattice subject to bond-dependent Ising exchange. It exhibits 
a quantum spin liquid ground state with fractionalization of the spins 
into itinerant Majorana fermions coupled to a static Z2 gauge field. 
Recently, there has been a surge of interest in the Kitaev model due to 
possible realization of its exchange interactions in real materials. 
I'll start by shortly introducing quantum spin liquids in general and 
why condensed matter physicist care. Then I will present the Kitaev 
model and sketch its exact solution. If time permits, I will also 
explain how the Kitaev exchange is realized in materials.

[1] A. Kitaev, Ann. Phys. (NY) 321, 2 (2006)