Chan, E;
Pásztorová, J;
Johnson, RD;
Songvilay, M;
Downie, RA;
Bos, J-WG;
Fabelo, O;
... Stock, C; + view all
(2022)
Neutron diffraction in
MnSb2O6
: Magnetic and structural domains in a helicoidal polar magnet with coupled chiralities.
Physical Review B
, 106
(6)
, Article 064403. 10.1103/physrevb.106.064403.
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Abstract
MnSb 2 O 6 is based on the structural chiral P 321 space group No. 150 where the magnetic Mn 2 + moments ( S = 5 / 2 , L ≈ 0 ) order antiferromagnetically at T N = 12 K . Unlike the related iron based langasite ( Ba 3 NbFe 3 Si 2 O 14 ) where the low-temperature magnetism is based on a proper helix characterized by a time-even pseudoscalar “magnetic” chirality, the Mn 2 + ions in MnSb 2 O 6 order with a cycloidal structure at low temperatures, described instead by a time-even vector “magnetic” polarity. A tilted cycloidal structure has been found [M. Kinoshita et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 047201 (2016)] to facilitate ferroelectric switching under an applied magnetic field. In this work, we apply polarized and unpolarized neutron diffraction analyzing the magnetic and nuclear structures in MnSb 2 O 6 with the aim of understanding this magnetoelectric coupling. We find no evidence for a helicoidal magnetic structure with one of the spin envelope axes tilted away from the cycloidal c axis. However, on the application of a magnetic field ∥ c the spin rotation plane can be tilted, giving rise to a cycloid—helix admixture that evolves towards a distorted helix (zero cycloidal component) for fields great than ≈ 2 T. We propose a mechanism for the previously reported ferroelectric switching based on coupled structural and magnetic chiralities requiring only an imbalance of structural chiral domains.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Neutron diffraction in MnSb2O6 : Magnetic and structural domains in a helicoidal polar magnet with coupled chiralities |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1103/physrevb.106.064403 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.064403 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10153967 |
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