Distinct itinerant spin-density waves and local-moment antiferromagnetism in an intermetallic ErPd$_2$Si$_2$ single crystal

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

doi:10.1038/srep07968

paper

Distinct itinerant spin-density waves and local-moment antiferromagnetism in an intermetallic ErPd $_{2}$ Si $_{2}$ single crystal

arXiv:1502.00773 · doi:10.1038/srep07968

Abstract

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 of $Q_{\pm}$ = ( $H \pm 0.557 (1)$ , 0, $L \pm 0.150 (1)$ ) and $Q_{C}$ = ( $H \pm 0.564 (1)$ , 0, $L$ ), where $(H, L)$ are allowed Miller indices, in an ErPd $_{2}$ Si $_{2}$ 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 $Q_{\pm}$ modulation may be attributed to localized 4\emph{f} moments while the $Q_{C}$ correlates well with itinerant conduction bands, supported by our transport studies. Hence, ErPd $_{2}$ Si $_{2}$ 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.

7 pages, 7 Figures, 1 Table

Distinct itinerant spin-density waves and local-moment antiferromagnetism in an intermetallic ErPd $_{2}$ Si $_{2}$ single crystal

Abstract

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Distinct itinerant spin-density waves and local-moment antiferromagnetism in an intermetallic ErPd2​Si2​ single crystal

Abstract

References in corpus (11)

Cited by in corpus (4)

Distinct itinerant spin-density waves and local-moment antiferromagnetism in an intermetallic ErPd $_{2}$ Si $_{2}$ single crystal