Pikulski, MarekShiroka, ToniCasola, FrancescoReyes, Arneil P.Kuhns, Philip L.Wang, ShuangOtt, Hans-RudolfMesot, Joel2020-10-292020-10-292020-10-292020-09-2810.1038/s41598-020-72215-zhttps://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/172879WOS:000577329800013Although the frustrated (zigzag) spin chain is the Drosophila of frustrated magnetism, our understanding of a pair of coupled zigzag chains (frustrated spin ladder) in a magnetic field is still lacking. We address this problem through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments on BiCu2PO6 in magnetic fields up to 45 T, revealing a field-induced spiral magnetic structure. Conjointly, we present advanced numerical calculations showing that even a moderate rung coupling dramatically simplifies the phase diagram below half-saturation magnetization by stabilizing a field-induced chiral phase. Surprisingly for a one-dimensional model, this phase and its response to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interactions adhere to classical expectations. While explaining the behavior at the highest accessible magnetic fields, our results imply a different origin for the solitonic phases occurring at lower fields in BiCu2PO6. An exciting possibility is that the known, DM-mediated coupling between chirality and crystal lattice may give rise to a new kind of spin-Peierls instability.Multidisciplinary SciencesScience & Technology - Other Topicsnearest-neighbor interactionmagnetic-resonancecrystalphasetext::journal::journal article::research article