We predict a general local spin-flip transition mechanism caused by magnetic quantum impurities in (partially) polarized phases of quantum magnets in the absence of conservation laws. This transition arises when a magnon bound-state crosses zero energy as a function of the magnetic field. As an application, we study two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals magnets described by the Kitaev-Heisenberg honeycomb model which applies to the transition metal trihalides ${\mathrm{CrI}}_3$ and $\alpha \text{−}{\mathrm{RuCl}}_3$. We consider the adatom and substitutional impurity positions, and show how spin-flip transitions can be detected in scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

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• Bound states
• Magnetism
• Magnons
• Spin state transition
• van der Waals systems
• Kitaev-Heisenberg model
• Scanning tunneling spectroscopy
• Single impurity model