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Raman circular dichroism and spinon quantum geometry of chiral quantum spin liquids

Eduard Koller1,2,3,*, Valentin Leeb1,2,4, Natalia B. Perkins5,3, and Johannes Knolle1,2,6

  • *Contact author: eduard.koller@tum.de
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 194425 – Published 26 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/n6zn-xvsw

Abstract

We show that the quantum geometry of fractionalized spin excitations in Mott-insulating quantum spin liquids (QSLs) gives rise to a finite Raman circular dichroism (RCD) signal. We identify conditions under which the Loudon-Fleury framework, where light modulates the underlying exchange interactions, and the light-matter-coupling approach, where the effective vector potential couples directly to the spinon bands, yield equivalent Raman vertices for the fractionalized quasiparticles. Using the latter, we derive an analytical decomposition of the RCD into different quantum geometric contributions. This reveals the sensitivity of the RCD to the underlying structure of the wave functions and the handedness of the excitations, rather than a nonzero Chern number of spinon excitations. To illustrate this, we apply our approach to two examples, the Kitaev honeycomb model in a magnetic field and a parton mean-field state of the chiral QSL on the triangular lattice.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 194425– Published 26 October, 2026
  • Received 28 March 2025
  • Revised 22 May 2026
  • Accepted 5 October 2026
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