Exotic superconductivity in the doped Kitaev quantum spin liquid

Abstract

We investigate superconductivity in a doped Kitaev quantum spin liquid by applying the many-variable variational Monte Carlo method to the hole-doped $t$-$J$-type Kitaev model. Using a projected pair-product wave function that can exactly represent the Kitaev quantum spin liquid, we examine the stability of superconducting phases on isotropic two-dimensional clusters. For the ferromagnetic Kitaev interaction, robust triplet $p$-wave superconductivity coexists with ferromagnetism in the low-to-intermediate doping regime but is suppressed as the system approaches the fully polarized ferromagnetic phase. For the antiferromagnetic Kitaev interaction, superconductivity exhibits a change in the dominant pairing symmetry from spin-dependent triplet $p$-wave at low doping to singlet $d+id$ at intermediate doping. By varying the strength of the ferromagnetic Kitaev interaction at fixed doping, we show that the triplet superconductivity increases together with the ferromagnetic moment and becomes strongest slightly below full polarization. Our results provide a theoretical basis for experimental searches for unconventional superconductivity, such as triplet superconductivity coexisting with ferromagnetism, in carrier-doped Kitaev candidate materials.