TY - JOUR
T1 - Collapsing cycloidal structures in the magnetic phase diagram of erbium
AU - Jehan, D.A.
AU - McMorrow, D.F.
AU - Simpson, J.A.
AU - Cowley, R.A.
AU - Swaddling, P.P.
AU - Clausen, K.N.
PY - 1994
Y1 - 1994
N2 - The magnetic structure of Er with a magnetic field applied in the hexagonal basal plane has been studied using a combination of experimental techniques and mean-field modeling. From neutron-scattering and magnetization measurements, phase diagrams are constructed. At temperatures above approximately 20 K, the application of a field is found to favor cycloidal structures with modulation wave vectors of q(c) = (6/23)c*, (4/15)c*, and (2/7)c*. For fields above almost-equal-to 40 kOe, the (2/7) structure dominates the phase diagram. From a detailed study of this most stable cycloid, we determine how it distorts as the field is increased. In low fields, there is a spin reorientation, so that the plane of the cycloid becomes perpendicular to the applied field, while in larger fields, the cycloid collapses through a series of fanlike structures. At lower temperatures, as the field is increased there is a first-order transition at almost-equal-to 20 kOe from a cone to a fan in the a-c plane.
AB - The magnetic structure of Er with a magnetic field applied in the hexagonal basal plane has been studied using a combination of experimental techniques and mean-field modeling. From neutron-scattering and magnetization measurements, phase diagrams are constructed. At temperatures above approximately 20 K, the application of a field is found to favor cycloidal structures with modulation wave vectors of q(c) = (6/23)c*, (4/15)c*, and (2/7)c*. For fields above almost-equal-to 40 kOe, the (2/7) structure dominates the phase diagram. From a detailed study of this most stable cycloid, we determine how it distorts as the field is increased. In low fields, there is a spin reorientation, so that the plane of the cycloid becomes perpendicular to the applied field, while in larger fields, the cycloid collapses through a series of fanlike structures. At lower temperatures, as the field is increased there is a first-order transition at almost-equal-to 20 kOe from a cone to a fan in the a-c plane.
KW - Materialer med særlige fysiske og kemiske egenskaber
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.50.3085
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.50.3085
M3 - Journal article
VL - 50
SP - 3085
EP - 3091
JO - Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)
JF - Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)
SN - 1098-0121
IS - 5
ER -