Atomic-Scale Visualization of a Cascade of Magnetic Orders in the Layered Antiferromagnet $GdT{e}_3$

Abstract

$GdT{e}_3$ is a layered antiferromagnet which has attracted attention due to its exceptionally high mobility, distinctive unidirectional incommensurate charge density wave (CDW), superconductivity under pressure, and a cascade of magnetic transitions between 7 and 12 K, with as yet unknown order parameters. Here, we use spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy to directly image the charge and magnetic orders in $GdT{e}_3$. Below 7 K, we find a striped antiferromagnetic phase with twice the periodicity of the Gd lattice and perpendicular to the CDW. As we heat the sample, we discover a spin density wave with the same periodicity as the CDW between 7 and 12 K; the viability of this phase is supported by our Landau free energy model. Our work reveals the order parameters of the magnetic phases in $GdT{e}_3$ and shows how the interplay between charge and spin can generate a cascade of magnetic orders.

46 pgs.; 4 main figures, 20 supplementary figures

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• Versatile multi-q antiferromagnetic charge order in correlated vdW metals
• RKKY interaction in the presence of a charge-density-wave order