Non-Kitaev vs. Kitaev Honeycomb Cobaltates
The study investigates why honeycomb cobaltates are not showing expected Kitaev physics despite initial proposals. Using strong-coupling theory and ab-initio calculations, researchers found that a previously ignored hopping path ($t_3$) generates a dominant ferromagnetic Heisenberg interaction. This competition, along with trigonal distortion effects, explains the observed non-Kitaev behavior in BaCo2(AsO4)2 (BCAO).