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Spin-strain interactions under hydrostatic pressure in α−RuCl3

A. Hauspurg1,2, Susmita Singh3, T. Yanagisawa4, V. Tsurkan5,6, J. Wosnitza1,2, Wolfram Brenig7, Natalia B. Perkins3,8, and S. Zherlitsyn1

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 134405 – Published 3 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/v9zy-rrf7

Abstract

We investigate the effects of hydrostatic pressure on α−RuCl3, a prototypical material for the Kitaev spin model on a honeycomb lattice with a possible spin-liquid ground state. Using ultrasound measurements at pressures up to 1.16 GPa, we reveal significant modifications of the acoustic properties and the H−T phase diagram of this material. Hydrostatic pressure suppresses the three-dimensional magnetic order and induces a dimerization transition at higher pressures. At low pressures, the sound attenuation exhibits a linear temperature dependence, while above 0.28 GPa, it becomes nearly temperature independent, suggesting a shift in the phonon scattering regime dominated by Majorana fermions. These findings provide new insights into spin-strain interactions in Kitaev magnets and deliver a detailed characterization of the H−T phase diagram of α−RuCl3 under hydrostatic pressure.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 134405– Published 3 October, 2025
  • Received 19 February 2025
  • Revised 18 June 2025
  • Accepted 19 September 2025
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