Duc, F.; Qureshi, N.; Suwa, H.; Ressouche, E.; Songvilay, M.; Prokhnenko, O.; Gazizulina, A.; Bourdarot, F.; Tsurkan, V.; Zherlitsyn, S.; Prodan, L.; Bertin, A.; Schneidewind, A.; Hoser, A.; Uhlarz, M.; Herrmannsdörfer, T.; Wosnitza, J.; Simonet, V.; Chattopadhyay, S.: Field-driven spin structure evolution in MnCr2S4: A high-field single-crystal neutron diffraction study. Physical Review B 110 (2024), p. 214416/1-14
10.1103/physrevb.110.214416
Open Access Version
Abstract:
We present a comprehensive microscopic insight into the spin configurations within the bond-frustrated cubic spinel compound MnCr2S4 directly unveiled through extensive single-crystal neutron diffraction studies carried out in zero magnetic field and in fields up to 35 T. While our zero field results confirm the ferrimagnetic structure with an antiparallel arrangement of the magnetic Cr3+ and Mn2+ sublattices below 𝑇FiM≈65 K, as well as the presence of the exotic Yafet-Kittel phase below 𝑇YK≈5 K, our data measured in fields enable us to precisely determine the field-induced magnetic structures and their evolution across the phase transitions at 𝜇0𝐻1≈11T and 𝜇0𝐻2≈25T and beyond that towards 𝜇0𝐻3 (≈50T) . Additionally, combining our experimental findings with mean-field-theory calculations reveals a complex field dependence of the Mn-Mn and Mn-Cr exchange interactions across the different phases, highlighting the significant influence of spin-lattice coupling in this material.