Nanowerk May 7, 2018
It was predicted that a set of topological excitations in a quantum material is likely to induce a phase transition. An international team of researchers (France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Japan) has provided experimental confirmation of this theory in BACOVO (BaCo2V2O8). They found a novel topological phase transition in BACOVO, governed not by a single type of topological excitation, but by two different ones. In addition, they were able to choose which of the two sets would dominate the other. These results open a whole range of possibilities in quantum physics research… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
The helix structure of BACOVO: the oxygen atoms, represented in red, are organized in octahedra around the cobalt atoms, located at their center. The blue arrows represent the small moments carried by the cobalt atoms, ordered antiferromagnetically along the helical chain. (Image: CEA/CNRS/UGA)