NMR study of supersolid phases in the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet Na2BaCo(PO4)2

Xiaoyu Xu, Zhanlong Wu, Ying Chen, Qing Huang, Ze Hu, Xinyu Shi, Kefan Du, Shuo Li, Rui Bian, Rong Yu, Yi Cui, Haidong Zhou, Weiqiang Yu

Published: 2025/4/11

Abstract

We report ultra-low-temperature $^{23}$Na NMR measurements on the Ising triangular lattice antiferromagnet Na$_2$BaCo(PO$_4$)$_2$, which precisely resolve the phase diagram under magnetic field applied along the crystalline $c$ axis. With increasing field, the NMR spectra resolve three ordered phases with distinct spin configurations: the Y, up-up-down (UUD), and V phases. The spin-lattice relaxation rate $1/T_1$ data demonstrate gapless excitations in the Y and V phases, strongly supporting their supersolid nature. However, the phase transitions from the UUD phase to the two supersolid phases exhibit dramatically different behaviors upon cooling. Prior to entering the Y phase, $1/T_1$ identifies a gapless regime within the UUD phase, suggesting a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase above a second-order phase transition. In contrast, the coexistence of the UUD and V phases observed in our experiments provides direct evidence of a first-order phase transition between these phases.