• Li, Hai-Feng
• Regnault, Louis-Pierre
• Loeser, Wolfgang
• Cao, Chongde
• Hou, Binyang
• Zhang, Cong
• Wildes, Andrew
• Roth, Georg
• Schmidt, Wolfgang
• Schmalzl, Karin
• Meuffels, Paul

Abstract

International audience ; Identifying the nature of magnetism, itinerant or localized, remains a major challenge in condensed-matter science. Purely localized moments appear only in magnetic insulators, whereas itinerant moments more or less co-exist with localized moments in metallic compounds such as the doped-cuprate or the iron-based superconductors, hampering a thorough understanding of the role of magnetism in phenomena like superconductivity or magnetoresistance. Here we distinguish two antiferromagnetic modulations with respective propagation wave vectors at Q(+/-) = (H +/- 0.557(1), 0, L +/- 0.150(1)) and Q(C) = (H +/- 0.564(1), 0, L), where (H, L) are allowed Miller indices, in an ErPd2Si2 single crystal by neutron scattering and establish their respective temperature-and field-dependent phase diagrams. The modulations can co-exist but also compete depending on temperature or applied field strength. They couple differently with the underlying lattice albeit with associated moments in a common direction. The Q(+/-) modulation may be attributed to localized 4f moments while the Q(C) correlates well with itinerant conduction bands, supported by our transport studies. Hence, ErPd2Si2 represents a new model compound that displays clearly-separated itinerant and localized moments, substantiating early theoretical predictions and providing a unique platform allowing the study of itinerant electron behavior in a localized antiferromagnetic matrix.

Topics

• density
• compound
• single crystal
• phase
• laser emission spectroscopy
• strength
• iron
• intermetallic
• phase diagram
• superconductivity
• superconductivity
• neutron scattering