Twice hidden string order and competing phases in the spin-1/2 Kitaev–Gamma ladder

Finding the Kitaev spin liquid in candidate materials involves understanding the entire phase diagram, including other allowed interactions. One of these interactions, called the Gamma (Γ) interaction, causes magnetic frustration and its interplay with the Kitaev (K) interaction is crucial to comprehend Kitaev materials. Due to the complexity of the combined KΓ model, quasi-one-dimensional models have been investigated. While several disordered …