Quasiequilibrium supersolid phase of a two-dimensional dipolar crystal

Abstract

We have studied the possible existence of a supersolid phase of a two-dimensional dipolar crystal using quantum Monte Carlo methods at zero temperature. Our results show that the commensurate solid is not a supersolid in the thermodynamic limit. The presence of vacancies or interstitials turns the solid into a supersolid phase even when a tiny fraction of them are present in a macroscopic system. The effective interaction between vacancies is repulsive making a quasiequilibrium dipolar supersolid possible.