Canted antiferromagnetism in phase-pure CuMnSb

Abstract

We report the low-temperature properties of phase-pure single crystals of the half-Heusler compound CuMnSb grown by means of optical float-zoning. The magnetization, specific heat, electrical resistivity, and Hall effect of our single crystals exhibit an antiferromagnetic transition at $T_{\mathrm{N}}=55\mathrm{K}$ and a second anomaly at a temperature $T^{\ast }\approx 34\mathrm{K}$. Powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction establish an ordered magnetic moment of $(3.9\pm 0.1){\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/f.u.$, consistent with the effective moment inferred from the Curie-Weiss dependence of the susceptibility. Below $T_{\mathrm{N}}$, the Mn sublattice displays commensurate type-II antiferromagnetic order with propagation vectors and magnetic moments along $⟨111⟩$ (magnetic space group $R[I]3c$). Surprisingly, below $T^{\ast }$, the moments tilt away from $⟨111⟩$ by a finite angle $\delta \approx 11^{\circ }$, forming a canted antiferromagnetic structure without uniform magnetization consistent with magnetic space group $C[B]c$. Our results establish that type-II antiferromagnetism is not the zero-temperature magnetic ground state of CuMnSb as may be expected of the face-centered cubic Mn sublattice.

arXiv comment14 pages, 15 figures

References in corpus (8)

• Electrical switching of an antiferromagnet
• Giant generic topological Hall resistivity of MnSi under pressure
• Structural, Electronic, and Magnetic Properties of MnO
• Semimetalic antiferromagnetism in the half-Heusler compound CuMnSb
• The multi-purpose three-axis spectrometer (TAS) MIRA at FRM II
• Ultra-high vacuum compatible preparation chain for intermetallic compounds
• Ultra-high vacuum compatible induction-heated rod casting furnace
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• Bulk-like magnetic properties in MBE-grown unstrained, antiferromagnetic CuMnSb
• Coexistence of Antiferromagnetic Cubic and Ferromagnetic Tetragonal Polymorphs in Epitaxial CuMnSb
• Observation of Griffiths-like phase in the quaternary Heusler compound NiFeTiSn