  The Kitaev model on a honeycomb lattice may provide a robust topological
quantum memory platform, but finding a material that realizes the unique spin
liquid phase remains a considerable challenge. We demonstrate that an effective
Kitaev Hamiltonian can arise from a half-filled Fermi-Hubbard Hamiltonian where
each site can experience a magnetic field in a different direction. As such, we
provide a method for realizing the Kitaev spin liquid on a single hexagonal
plaquette made up of twelve quantum dots. Despite the small system size, there
are clear signatures of the Kitaev spin-liquid ground state, and there is a
range of parameters where these signatures are predicted, allowing a potential
platform where Kitaev spin-liquid physics can be explored experimentally in
quantum dot plaquettes.
