Field-induced Bose–Einstein condensation in zigzag spin chain KGaCu(PO4)2

Abstract

Single crystals of GaKCu(PO4)2 were synthesized using the hydrothermal method, and subsequent measurements of specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, and high-field magnetization were performed. A broad peak is observed in the magnetic susceptibility and specific heat curves, with the maximum values appearing at about 11.5 K and 5.29 K, respectively. The highest maximum peak value of susceptibility is observed when the magnetic field is applied along the c-axis, followed by the a-axis, b-axis, and polycrystalline samples. These indicate that the system exhibits one-dimensional magnetism and the magnetic easy axis is the c axis. The magnetization at 2 K reveals the occurrence of a field-induced Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) phase within the magnetic field range of approximately 8−12 T. High-field magnetization up to 40 T indicates that the compound reaches magnetization saturation as the field exceeds H s = 12 T. Through systematic measurements, a field-temperature (H−T) phase diagram was constructed, and dome-like phase boundaries were observed. The findings suggest that GaKCu(PO4)2 is a spin gap system and a promising candidate for studying BEC of magnons due to its phase transition boundary occurring at low magnetic fields.