SANS Study of New Nanometer-sized Magnetic Structure of the Elemental Nd

ORAL

Abstract

The rare earth neodymium exhibits exceedingly complex magnetic order and series of phase transitions. In this talk, we present results from small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field to study magnetic correlations on nanometer length scales in Nd. The SANS measurements reveal a set of new modulation vectors that characterize the ordered spin configuration. These spin textures exhibit changes in magnitude and direction that are phase dependent. Between 5.9 and 7.6 K, the additional modulation vector has a magnitude $Q$ = 0.12 AA$^{-1}$ and is primarily due to order of the Nd layers which contain a center of inversion. In this region of the phase diagram, the SANS measurements also identify a phase boundary at $approx$1 T which was not previously seen in thinner samples. An important feature of these modulation vectors is that they indicate the presence of nanometer length scale spin textures which are likely stabilized by frustrated Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida(RKKY) interactions.

*This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor and Spallation Neutron Source, DOE Office ofScience User Facilities operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This manuscript has been authored byUT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that theUnited States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ().

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Presenters

  • Lisa DeBeer-Schmitt

    • ORNL

Authors

  • Lisa DeBeer-Schmitt

    • ORNL

  • Hasitha Suriya Arachchiage

    • University of Tennessee: Knoxville

  • Lazar L Kish

    • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • Binod K Rai

    • Savannah River Natl Laboratory

  • David S Parker

    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Ganesh Pokharel

    • University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Wei Tian

    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • David G Mandrus

    • University of Tennessee

  • Markus Bleuel

    • Unknown

  • Zahir Islam

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Gilberto Fabbris

    • Argonne National Laboratory

  • Haoxiang Li

    • ORNL

  • Shang Gao

    • Oak Ridge National Lab

  • Hu Miao

    • ORNL

  • Sean M Thomas

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Priscila Rosa

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Joe D Thompson

    • Los Alamos Natl Lab

  • Shizeng Lin

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Andrew Christianson

    • ORNL