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One of the most important issues in modern condensed matter physics is the realization of fractionalized excitations, such as the Majorana excitations in the Kitaev quantum spin liquid. To this aim, the 3d-based Kitaev material Na₂Co₂TeO₆ is a promising candidate whose magnetic phase diagram of B // a* contains a field-induced intermediate magnetically disordered phase within 7.5 T < |B| < 10 T. The experimental observations, including the restoration of the crystalline point group symmetry in the angle-dependent torque and the coexisting magnon excitations and spinon-continuum in the inelastic neutron scattering spectrum, provide strong evidence that this disordered phase is a field induced quantum spin liquid with partially polarized spins. Our variational Monte Carlo simulation with the effective K-J₁-Γ-Γ'-J₃ model reproduces the experimental data and further supports this conclusion. 

Abstract Spin-orbit coupled honeycomb magnets with the Kitaev interaction have received a lot of attention due to their potential of hosting exotic quantum states including quantum spin liquids. Thus far, the most studied Kitaev systems are 4 d /5 d -based honeycomb magnets. Recent theoretical studies predicted that 3 d -based honeycomb magnets, including Na 2 Co 2 TeO 6 (NCTO), could also be a potential Kitaev system. Here, we have used a combination of heat capacity, magnetization, electron spin resonance measurements alongside inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to study NCTO’s quantum magnetism, and we have found a field-induced spin disordered state in an applied magnetic field range of 7.5 T <  B (⊥ b -axis) < 10.5 T. The INS spectra were also simulated to tentatively extract the exchange interactions. As a 3 d -magnet with a field-induced disordered state on an effective spin-1/2 honeycomb lattice, NCTO expands the Kitaev model to 3 d compounds, promoting further interests on the spin-orbital effect in quantum magnets.