Ab initio guided minimal model for the "Kitaev" material BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$: Importance of direct hopping, third-neighbor exchange and quantum fluctuations

Abstract

By considering two {\it ab initio}-based complementary approaches, we analyze the electronic structure and extract effective spin models of BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$, a honeycomb material which has been proposed as a candidate for Kitaev physics. Both methods show that the dominant direct hopping makes the bond-dependent Kitaev term negligible averting the material away from the sought-after spin-liquid regime. As a result, we present a simple three-parameter exchange model to describe the interactions of the lowest doublet of the honeycomb cobaltate BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$. Remarkably, it is the third-neighbor interactions, both isotropic and anisotropic, that are responsible for the standout double-zigzag ground state of BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$, stabilized by quantum fluctuations. A significantly large third-nearest neighbor hopping, observed in {\it ab initio}, supports the importance of the third-neighbor interactions in the stabilization of the unique ground state of BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$.