Kitaev spin liquid in superconducting networks
Abstract
We propose a realization of the Kitaev honeycomb Hamiltonian -- an archetypal spin-liquid model -- in a superconducting metamaterial. The architecture consists of Cooper-pair boxes coupled through depleted semiconductor--superconductor heterostructures that do not require spin--orbit coupling. The Cooper-pair boxes encode effective spin degrees of freedom, while normal and anomalous virtual propagation through the heterostructures mediate bond-directional interactions. Two key control parameters are an out-of-plane magnetic flux and the semiconductor Fermi energy. The former controls interference and distinguishes the bond directions, while tuning the latter close to the bottom of the band gives rise to an emergent Nambu-exchange symmetry that enforces the required bond directionality. Through numerical calculations, we identify an operating regime with controlled corrections, with associated energy and length scales within experimental reach. These results establish a route toward equilibrium quantum spin liquids in engineered superconducting networks.
Related
- Two superconducting pairing models with a Kitaev spin-liquid glue: microscopic kernel and parity alternation on odd-fold bond stars
- Complete Entanglement Structure of the Kitaev Honeycomb Spin Liquid from Exact Tensor Networks
- Mixed-State Topological Transition and Emergent Fractionalized Supersymmetry in the Non-Abelian Kitaev Spin Liquid
- Gravitational anomaly spectroscopy of a Kitaev spin liquid
- Such stuff as magic is made on: compact operator algebra, stabilizer polytope and the structure of reduced density matrices in a Kitaev spin liquid
BibTeX
@misc{delfino2026kitaev,
title = {{Kitaev spin liquid in superconducting networks}},
author = {Guilherme Delfino and Mehmet Dede and Dmitry Green and Michael J. Manfra and Charles M. Marcus and Claudio Chamon},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.25210},
eprint = {2609.25210},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25210},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Kitaev spin liquid in superconducting networks
AU - Guilherme Delfino
AU - Mehmet Dede
AU - Dmitry Green
AU - Michael J. Manfra
AU - Charles M. Marcus
AU - Claudio Chamon
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.25210
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25210
AB - We propose a realization of the Kitaev honeycomb Hamiltonian -- an archetypal spin-liquid model -- in a superconducting metamaterial. The architecture consists of Cooper-pair boxes coupled through depleted semiconductor--superconductor heterostructures that do not require spin--orbit coupling. The Cooper-pair boxes encode effective spin degrees of freedom, while normal and anomalous virtual propagation through the heterostructures mediate bond-directional interactions. Two key control parameters are an out-of-plane magnetic flux and the semiconductor Fermi energy. The former controls interference and distinguishes the bond directions, while tuning the latter close to the bottom of the band gives rise to an emergent Nambu-exchange symmetry that enforces the required bond directionality. Through numerical calculations, we identify an operating regime with controlled corrections, with associated energy and length scales within experimental reach. These results establish a route toward equilibrium quantum spin liquids in engineered superconducting networks.
ER -