Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 7, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10569
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Funding
- National Basic Research Program of China [2015CB921201]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [11227405, 11534015, 11374347, 11174263, U1532147]
- Opening Project of Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center [PHMFF2015021]
- Chinese Academy of Sciences [XDB07030200, KJZD-EW-M05]
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Geometric frustration and quantum fluctuations may prohibit the formation of long-range ordering even at the lowest temperature, and therefore liquid-like ground states could be expected. A good example is the quantum spin liquid in frustrated magnets. Geometric frustration and quantum fluctuations can happen beyond magnetic systems. Here we propose that quantum electric-dipole liquids, analogues of quantum spin liquids, could emerge in frustrated dielectrics where antiferroelectrically coupled electric dipoles reside on a triangular lattice. The quantum paraelectric hexaferrite BaFe12O19 with geometric frustration represents a promising candidate for the proposed electric-dipole liquid. We present a series of experimental lines of evidence, including dielectric permittivity, heat capacity and thermal conductivity measured down to 66 mK, to reveal the existence of an unusual liquid-like quantum phase in BaFe12O19, characterized by itinerant low-energy excitations with a small gap. The possible quantum liquids of electric dipoles in frustrated dielectrics open up a fresh playground for fundamental physics.
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