TY - JOUR
T1 - Competing spin modulations in the magnetically frustrated semimetal EuCuSb
AU - Takahashi, Hidefumi
AU - Aono, Kai
AU - Nambu, Yusuke
AU - Kiyanagi, Ryoji
AU - Nomoto, Takuya
AU - Sakano, Masato
AU - Ishizaka, Kyoko
AU - Arita, Ryotaro
AU - Ishiwata, Shintaro
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank H. Kawamura, K. Aoyama, K. Mitsumoto, Y. Tanaka, and Y. Narumi for fruitful discussions, and M. Avdeev for preliminary powder neutron-diffraction measurements. This study was supported in part by KAKENHI (Grants No. 17H01195, No. 17H06137, No. 19H02424, No. 19K14652, and No. 20K03802), JST CREST (Grant No. JPMJCR16F1), and the Asahi Glass Foundation. The neutron diffraction experiment at the Materials and Life science Experimental Facility (MLF) of the J-PARC was performed under the user program (Proposal No. 2019B0018).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Physical Society.
PY - 2020/11/13
Y1 - 2020/11/13
N2 - The competing magnetic ground states of the itinerant magnet EuCuSb, which has a hexagonal layered structure, were studied via magnetization, resistivity, and neutron-diffraction measurements on single-crystal samples. EuCuSb has a three-dimensional semimetallic band structure as confirmed by band calculation and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, consistent with the nearly isotropic metallic conductivity in the paramagnetic state. However, below the antiferromagnetic transition temperature of TN1 (8.5 K), the resistivity, especially along the hexagonal axis, increases significantly. This implies the emergence of anisotropic magnetic ordering coupled to the conducting electrons. Neutron-diffraction measurements show that the Eu spins, which order ferromagnetically within each layer, are collinearly modulated (up-up-down-down) along the hexagonal axis below TN1, followed by the partial emergence of helical spin modulation below TN2 (6 K). Based on the observation of anomalous magnetoresistance with hysteretic behavior, we discuss the competing nature of the ground state inherent in a frustrated Heisenberg-like spin system with a centrosymmetric structure.
AB - The competing magnetic ground states of the itinerant magnet EuCuSb, which has a hexagonal layered structure, were studied via magnetization, resistivity, and neutron-diffraction measurements on single-crystal samples. EuCuSb has a three-dimensional semimetallic band structure as confirmed by band calculation and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, consistent with the nearly isotropic metallic conductivity in the paramagnetic state. However, below the antiferromagnetic transition temperature of TN1 (8.5 K), the resistivity, especially along the hexagonal axis, increases significantly. This implies the emergence of anisotropic magnetic ordering coupled to the conducting electrons. Neutron-diffraction measurements show that the Eu spins, which order ferromagnetically within each layer, are collinearly modulated (up-up-down-down) along the hexagonal axis below TN1, followed by the partial emergence of helical spin modulation below TN2 (6 K). Based on the observation of anomalous magnetoresistance with hysteretic behavior, we discuss the competing nature of the ground state inherent in a frustrated Heisenberg-like spin system with a centrosymmetric structure.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.102.174425
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.102.174425
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85096954339
VL - 102
JO - Physical Review B
JF - Physical Review B
SN - 2469-9950
IS - 17
M1 - 174425
ER -