Topological phase transition and nontrivial thermal Hall signatures in honeycomb lattice magnets

Abstract: We investigate spinon band topology and engineering from the interplay between long-ranged magnetic order and fractionalized spinons, as well as Zeeman coupling under external magnetic fields, in honeycomb lattice magnets. The synergism of N\'eel order and magnetic fields could reconstruct the spinon bands and drive a topological phase transition from the coexisting phase of long-ranged order and chiral spin liquid with semion topological order to the conventional magnetic order. Our prediction can be immediately tested through thermal Hall transport measurements among the honeycomb lattice magnets that are tuned to be proximate to the quantum critical point. Our theory should also shed light on the critical behavior of honeycomb Kitaev materials with emergent Majorana fermion bands. We suggest a possible relevance to the spin-1/2 honeycomb spin liquid candidate material In$_3$Cu$_2$VO$_9$.