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  • Open Access

Tuning the Chern number of a Kitaev quantum spin liquid

Seong Jun Kwon1,2, Kyusung Hwang3,*, and Suk Bum Chung2,4,5,†

  • 1Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
  • 2Department of Physics and Natural Science Research Institute, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
  • 3Department of Applied Physics, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Republic of Korea
  • 4School of Physics, Korea Institute for Advanced Study, Seoul 02455, Republic of Korea
  • 5Department of Physics and Institute for Condensed Matter Theory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA

  • *Contact author: kyusung.hwang@khu.ac.kr
  • †Contact author: sbchung0@uos.ac.kr
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Phys. Rev. B 113, 024416 – Published 16 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1qmb-c69z

Abstract

It is now well understood that non-Kitaev spin interactions can be added to the Kitaev quantum spin liquid by applying external fields. Recent years have seen intensive discussion on the possible phase transitions that these spin interactions induce. In this paper, we will show through the perturbation theory the possibility of accessing a gapped spin liquid phase with a higher Chern number through, in contrast to the cases studied in literature, a continuous phase transition. Such a transition may be induced by external tuning parameters such as electric field and hydrostatic pressure.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. B 113, 024416– Published 16 January, 2026
  • Received 10 June 2025
  • Revised 23 December 2025
  • Accepted 5 January 2026
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