Quantum Phases of SrCu2(BO3)2 from High-Pressure Thermodynamics

Abstract

We report heat capacity measurements of SrCu2(BO3)2 under high pressure along with simulations of relevant quantum spin models and map out the (P,T) phase diagram of the material. We find a first-order quantum phase transition between the low-pressure quantum dimer paramagnet and a phase with signatures of a plaquette-singlet state below T=2 K. At higher pressures, we observe a transition into a previously unknown antiferromagnetic state below 4 K. Our findings can be explained within the two-dimensional Shastry-Sutherland quantum spin model supplemented by weak interlayer couplings. The possibility to tune SrCu2(BO3)2 between the plaquette-singlet and antiferromagnetic states opens opportunities for experimental tests of quantum field theories and lattice models involving fractionalized excitations, emergent symmetries, and gauge fluctuations.