triangular quantum magnet

Researchers report evidence for a continuous confinement-deconfinement transition in a triangular-lattice quantum magnet, a long-sought phenomenon in condensed matter physics. The finding offers experimental support for deconfined quantum criticality, where particle-like excitations split apart at a quantum critical point. Physicists are discussing the result as an important test of theoretical models of quantum spin liquids and fractionalized states on frustrated lattices.