Crystallization of spin superlattices with pressure and field in the layered magnet SrCu2(BO3)2.
An exact mapping between quantum spins and boson gases provides fresh approaches to the creation of quantum condensates and crystals. Here we report on magnetization measurements on the dimerized quantum magnet SrCu2(BO3)2 at cryogenic temperatures and through a quantum-phase transition that demonstrate the emergence of fractionally filled bosonic crystals in mesoscopic patterns, specified by a sequence of magnetization plateaus. We apply tens of Teslas of magnetic field to tune the density of bosons and gigapascals of hydrostatic pressure to regulate the underlying interactions. Simulations help parse the balance between energy and geometry in the emergent spin superlattices. The magnetic crystallites are the end result of a progression from a direct product of singlet states in each short dimer at zero field to preferred filling fractions of spin-triplet bosons in each dimer at large magnetic field, enriching the known possibilities for collective states in both quantum spin and atomic systems.
Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.|The James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.|Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
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Haravifard
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32310, USA.
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Graf
Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
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Feiguin
Department of Physics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.|Quantum Condensed Matter Division and Shull-Wollan Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.|Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
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Batista
Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
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Lang
The James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.|Division of Physics, Mathematics &Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
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Silevitch
Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
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Srajer
Department of Physics and Astronomy and Brockhouse Institute for Material Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1.
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Gaulin
Department of Physics and Astronomy and Brockhouse Institute for Material Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1.
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Dabkowska
The James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.|Division of Physics, Mathematics &Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
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Rosenbaum