A complete characterization of the spectrum of the Kitaev model on spin ladders

We study the Kitaev model on a ladder network and find the complete spectrum of the Hamiltonian in closed form. Closed and manageable forms for all eigenvalues and eigenvectors, allow us to calculate the partition function and averages of non-local operators in addition to the reduced density matrices of different subsystems at arbitrary temperatures. It is also briefly discussed how these considerations can be generalized to more general lattices, including three-leg ladders and two dimensional square lattices.