Anomalous spin distribution in the superconducting ferromagnet UCoGe studied by polarized neutron diffraction

Abstract

We report a polarized neutron diffraction study conducted to reveal the nature of the weak ferromagnetic moment in the superconducting ferromagnet UCoGe. We find that the ordered moment in the normal phase in low magnetic fields (B // c) is predominantly located at the U atom and has a magnitude of about 0.1 muB at 3 T, in agreement with bulk magnetization data. By increasing the magnetic field the U moment grows to about 0.3 muB in 12 T and most remarkably, induces a substantial moment (about 0.2 muB) on the Co atom directed antiparallel to the U moment. The anomalous polarizability of the Co 3d orbitals is unique among uranium intermetallics and might reflect the proximity to a magnetic quantum critical point of UCoGe in zero field.

3 figures, accepted for Phys. Rev. B, Rapid Communication

References in corpus (9)

• Superconducting phases of f-electron compounds
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Cited by in corpus (18)

• Ferromagnetism and Superconductivity in Uranium Compounds
• Superconductivity in Uranium Ferromagnets
• High-field moment polarization in the ferromagnetic superconductor UCoGe
• Properties of Ferromagnetic Superconductors
• Superconductivity Reinforced by Magnetic Field and the Magnetic Instability in Uranium Ferromagnets
• First Observation of Quantum Oscillations in the Ferromagnetic Superconductor UCoGe
• Electronic structures of ferromagnetic superconductors ${\mathrm{UGe}}_2$ and $\mathrm{UCoGe}$ studied by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy
• Assessment of the U and Co magnetic moments in UCoGe by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism
• Determination of spin and orbital magnetization in the ferromagnetic superconductor UCoGe
• Switching of magnetic ground states across the UIr1-xRhxGe alloy system
• Magnetic relaxation in uranium ferromagnetic superconductors
• Novel critical behavior of magnetization in URhSi:Similarities to uranium ferromagnetic superconductors UGe${}_2$ and URhGe
• ^{59}Co-Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance studies on YCoGe --- Comparison between YCoGe and UCoGe ---
• Effect of Pressure on Magnetism of UIrGe
• Low magnetic field phase diagram of UCoGe
• Angular variation of the magnetoresistance of the superconducting ferromagnet UCoGe
• Multigap Superconductivity in the Ferromagnetic Superconductor UCoGe Revealed by Thermal Conductivity Measurements
• Effect of lattice distortion on U magnetic moments in ${\mathrm{U}}_4\mathrm{R}{\mathrm{u}}_7\mathrm{G}{\mathrm{e}}_6$ studied by polarized neutron diffraction