Lattice distortions in the pressure-induced plaquette phase in the Shastry-Sutherland compound, SrCu2(BO3)2
We propose a powder diffraction experiment at D20 to determine the lattice symmetry of SrCu2(BO3)2 in the plaquette phase. The Shastry-Sutherland lattice consists of spin pairs embedded in a square lattice and with inter-dimer coupling, J, and intra-dimer coupling J'. It has an exact dimer product ground state for J'/J <= 0.675. Upon increasing the ratio of J'/J, the system goes through a quantum phase transition to a plaquette singlet state followed by a transition to a Néel phase. SrCu2(BO3)2 is unique since it is topologically equivalent to the Shastry-Sutherland lattice. The ratio, J'/J, may be tuned by applying pressure and the resulting phase diagram resembles that theoretically predicted for the Shastry-Sutherland model. The nature of the plaquette phase in SrCu2(BO3)2 is still debated and recent theoretical studies suggest that the magnetic order in this state may be accompanied by an orthorhombic lattice distortion. With the proposed experiment we aim to identify this distortion and thereby gain a better understanding of the plaquette phase.
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The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is in the following format:
FOGH Ellen; R. Gaal; GIRIAT Gaetan; Thomas C. Hansen; Henrik M. Ronnow and ZAYED Mohamed. (2020). Lattice distortions in the pressure-induced plaquette phase in the Shastry-Sutherland compound, SrCu2(BO3)2. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.5-24-649
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