Bose Einstein Condensation of Magnons in BaCuSi$_{2}$O$_{6}$: An experimental perspective

Abstract

Han Purple, a pigment first obtained in ancient China, is one of the earliest known synthetic pigments. Also naturally occurring, as a mineral, it is known as colinowensite (Cwn). Its chemical formula is BaCuSi$_{2}$O$_{6}$, and its structure is a layered cyclosilicate in which magnetic Cu$^{2+}$ ions (S = 1/2) form dimers arranged on a square lattice, making it also the first known synthetic metal dimer compound. Most interesting magnetic properties arise from a strong intradimer spin coupling, accompanied by weaker interdimer interactions within and between Cu-dimer layers. In zero or small magnetic fields, BaCuSi$_{2}$O$_{6}$ remains a quantum paramagnet. However, under high magnetic fields between 23 and 49 Tesla -- about a million times stronger than Earth's magnetic field -- it undergoes magnetic ordering at subliquid Helium temperatures into an almost ideal easy-plane (XY) antiferromagnetic state regarded as a realization of a Bose-Einstein condensate of magnons. Within this experimentally accessible field range, BaCuSi$_{2}$O$_{6}$ serves as an extraordinary playground for testing predictions of quantum many-body physics.