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Supersolidity enters a second dimension<\/p>\n<\/h4>\n
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Li explains that there are currently two main ways to cool materials to few-Kelvin temperatures. The first is to use helium, which becomes a liquid at temperatures below 4.15 K. The second is to exploit the magnetocaloric effect, in which certain materials change temperature under the influence of an applied magnetic field. Both these techniques have their drawbacks: helium is scarce and therefore expensive, while the special class of compounds used for magnetocaloric cooling (known as hydrated paramagnetic salts) have low magnetic entropy density, poor chemical stability and low thermal conductivity. However, Li claims that the giant magnetocaloric effect in the newly-discovered spin supersolid could \u201ceffectively overcome these drawbacks\u201d by exploiting collective spin excitations at low energies.<\/p>\n
Looking for other spin supersolids<\/h3>\n
The researchers are now trying to obtain additional dynamical evidence for spin supersolidity in NBCP. To this end, Jin says they are performing inelastic neutron scattering measurements to investigate the Goldstone modes associated with the spin superfluid order. They also plan to conduct polarized neutron diffraction experiments to further strengthen their findings.<\/p>\n
Finally, the team is investigating other triangular lattice compounds in an effort to identify additional spin supersolid states or other exotic spin states. \u201cBy doing so, we hope to better understand the underlying physical phenomena that give rise to these intriguing quantum phases of matter,\u201d Su says.<\/p>\n
Their present study is detailed in Nature<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n