Author(s): Xing-Yu Zhang, Qi Yang, Philippe Corboz, Jutho Haegeman, and Yuchi He We investigate the quantum phases of higher-spin Kitaev models using tensor network methods. Our results reveal distinct valence-bond-ordered phases for spin-1, spin-$\frac{3}{2}$, and spin-2 models. In all cases, we find translational symmetry breaking with unit cells being tripled by forming valen… [Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 176502] Published Tue Oct 20, 2026