Supersolid Hard-Core Bosons on the Triangular Lattice

We determine the phase diagram of hard-core bosons on a triangular lattice with nearest-neighbor repulsion, paying special attention to the stability of the supersolid phase. Similar to the same model on a square lattice we find that for densities rho<1/3 or rho>2/3 a supersolid phase is unstable and the transition between a commensurate solid and the superfluid is of first order. At intermediate fillings 1/3<rho<2/3 we find an extended supersolid phase even at half filling rho=1/2. The emergence of the supersolid on the triangular lattice reflects a novel and interesting way for a quantum system to avoid classical frustration, similar to an order-by-disorder mechanism. It also offers an exciting possibility of realizing such phenomena in ultracold atoms on optical lattices.