Field-induced quantum spin liquids (QSLs) and related phenomena in Kitaev honeycomb systems are under intensive investigation. Here, we investigate the anisotropic antiferromagnetic Kitaev model under magnetic field $h$ along the [111] direction by using state-of-the-art tensor network simulations. By varying the anisotropy parameter $\alpha$ from 1 to 1.25, we map out the $\alpha \text{−}h$ phase diagram through a comprehensive analysis of ground-state and finite-temperature properties, including entanglement spectrum, magnetization and its derivatives, spin structure factors, specific heat, and thermal entropy. Our results reveal two distinct field-induced phase transitions, with an intermediate QSL phase persisting up to $\alpha <1.125$. This provides a clear constraint for observing such QSL in real Kitaev magnets. Moreover, for $\alpha >1$, thermodynamic calculations indicate that the intermediate-temperature Kitaev fractional liquid regime extends down to significantly lower temperatures than the isotropic Kitaev case, forming a broader fractional plateau in entropy curve. Upon adiabatic demagnetization or pressurization process, a topological cooling effect can be achieved, demonstrating a potential application of anisotropic Kitaev magnets.

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• Magnetic anisotropy
• Phase diagrams
• Quantum phase transitions
• Magnetic systems
• Quantum many-body systems
• Strongly correlated systems
• Spin lattice models
• Tensor network methods