Abstract and subjects
This article reviews experimental and theoretical work on Bose-Einstein condensation in quantum magnets. These magnets are natural realizations of gases of interacting bosons whose relevant parameters such as dimensionality, lattice geometry, amount of disorder, nature of the interactions, and particle concentration can vary widely between different compounds. The particle concentration can be easily tuned by applying an external magnetic field which plays the role of a chemical potential. This rich spectrum of realizations offers a unique possibility for studying the different physical behaviors that emerge in interacting Bose gases from the interplay between their relevant parameters. The plethora of other bosonic phases that can emerge in quantum magnets, of which the Bose-Einstein condensate is the most basic ground state, is reviewed. The compounds discussed in this review have been intensively studied in the last two decades and have led to important contributions in the area of quantum magnetism. In spite of their apparent simplicity, these systems often exhibit surprising behaviors. The possibility of using controlled theoretical approaches has triggered the discovery of unusual effects induced by frustration, dimensionality, or disorder.