The planar thermal Hall conductivity in the Kitaev magnet α-RuCl3

Abstract: We report detailed measurements of the Onsager-like planar thermal Hall conductivity $\kappa_{xy}$ in $\alpha$-RuCl$3$, a spin-liquid candidate of topical interest. With the thermal current ${\bf J}{\rm Q}$ and magnetic field $\bf B\parallel a$ (zigzag axis), the observed $\kappa_{xy}/T$ varies strongly with temperature $T$ (1-10 K). The results are well-described by bosonic edge excitations which evolve to topological magnons at large $B$. Fits to $\kappa_{xy}/T$ yield a Chern number $\sim 1$ and a band energy $\omega_1\sim$1 meV, in agreement with sharp modes seen in electron spin-resonance experiments. The bosonic character is incompatible with half-quantization of $\kappa_{xy}/T$.