Neutron Scattering Studies of Modulated Magnetic Structures

This report describes investigations of the magnetic systems DyFe₄Al₈ and MnSi by neutron scattering and in the former case also by X-ray magnetic resonant scattering. The report is divided into three parts: An introduction to the technique of neutron scattering with special emphasis on the relation between the scattering cross section and the correlations between the scattering entities of the sample. The theoretical framework of neutron scattering experiments using polarized beam technique is outlined. The second part describes neutron and X-ray scattering investigation of the magnetic structures of DyFe₄Al₈. The Fe sublattice of the compound orders at 180 K in a cycloidal structure in the basal plane of the bct crystal structure. At 25 K the ordering of the Dy sublattice shows up. By the element specific technique of X-ray resonant magnetic scattering, the basal plane cycloidal structure was also found for the Dy sublattice. The work also includes neutron scattering studies of DyFe₄Al₈ in magnetic fields up to 5 T applied along a < 110 > direction. The modulated structure at the Dy sublattice is quenched by a field lower than 1 T, whereas modulation is present at the Fe sublattice even when the 5 T field is applied. In the third part of the report, results from three small angle neutron experiments on MnSi are presented. At ambient pressure, a MnSi is known to form a helical spin density wave at temperature below 29 K. The application of 4.5 kbar pressure intended as hydrostatic decreased the Néel temperature to 25 K and changed the orientation of the modulation vector. To understand this reorientation within the current theoretical framework, anisotropic deformation of the sample crystal must be present. The development of magnetic critical scattering with an isotropic distribution of intensity has been studied at a level of detail higher than that of work found in the literature. Finally the potential of a novel polarization device for small angle neutron scattering is demonstrated by measurements of the magnetic critical scattering from MnSi.