Fractionalized Prethermalization in a Driven Quantum Spin Liquid

Quantum spin liquids subject to a periodic drive can display fascinating non-equilibrium heating behavior because of their emergent fractionalized quasi-particles. Here, we investigate a driven Kitaev honeycomb model and examine the dynamics of emergent Majorana matter and $Z_2$ flux excitations. We uncover a distinct two-step heating profile $\text{–}$ dubbed fractionalized prethermalization $\text{–}$ and a quasi-stationary state with vastly different temperatures for the matter and the flux sectors. We argue that this peculiar prethermalization behavior is a consequence of fractionalization. Furthermore, we discuss an experimentally feasible protocol for preparing a zero-flux initial state of the Kiteav honeycomb model with a low energy density, which can be used to observe fractionalized prethermalization in quantum information processing platforms.