Home
Scholarly Works
Discovery of quantum phases in the...
Journal article

Discovery of quantum phases in the Shastry-Sutherland compound SrCu2(BO3)2 under extreme conditions of field and pressure

Abstract

The 2-dimensional layered oxide material SrCu2(BO3)2, long studied as a realization of the Shastry-Sutherland spin topology, exhibits a range of intriguing physics as a function of both hydrostatic pressure and magnetic field, with a still debated intermediate plaquette phase appearing at approximately 20 kbar and a possible deconfined critical point at higher pressure. Here, we employ a tunnel diode oscillator (TDO) technique to probe the behavior in the combined extreme conditions of high pressure, high magnetic field, and low temperature. We reveal an extensive phase space consisting of multiple magnetic analogs of the elusive supersolid phase and a magnetization plateau. In particular, a 10 × 2 supersolid and a 1/5 plateau, identified by infinite Projected Entangled Pair States (iPEPS) calculations, are found to rely on the presence of both magnetic and non-magnetic particles in the sea of dimer singlets. These states are best understood as descendants of the full-plaquette phase, the leading candidate for the intermediate phase of SrCu2(BO3)2.

Authors

Shi Z; Dissanayake S; Corboz P; Steinhardt W; Graf D; Silevitch DM; Dabkowska HA; Rosenbaum TF; Mila F; Haravifard S

Journal

Nature Communications, Vol. 13, No. 1,

Publisher

Springer Nature

Publication Date

December 1, 2022

DOI

10.1038/s41467-022-30036-w

ISSN

2041-1723

Contact the Experts team