Spin order and dynamics in the topological rare-earth germanide semimetals

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Main Authors: Wang, Yuhao, Zhen, Zhixuan, Meng, Jing, Plokhikh, Igor, Wu, Delong, Gawryluk, Dariusz J., Xu, Yang, Zhan, Qingfeng, Shi, Ming, Pomjakushina, Ekaterina, Shiroka, Toni, Shang, Tian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Wang, Yuhao
Zhen, Zhixuan
Meng, Jing
Plokhikh, Igor
Wu, Delong
Gawryluk, Dariusz J.
Xu, Yang
Zhan, Qingfeng
Shi, Ming
Pomjakushina, Ekaterina
Shiroka, Toni
Shang, Tian
author_facet Wang, Yuhao
Zhen, Zhixuan
Meng, Jing
Plokhikh, Igor
Wu, Delong
Gawryluk, Dariusz J.
Xu, Yang
Zhan, Qingfeng
Shi, Ming
Pomjakushina, Ekaterina
Shiroka, Toni
Shang, Tian
contents The $RE$Al(Si,Ge) ($RE$ = rare earth) family, known to break both the inversion- and time-reversal symmetries, represents one of the most suitable platforms for investigating the interplay between correlated-electron phenomena and topologically nontrivial bands. Here, we report on systematic magnetic, transport, and muon-spin rotation and relaxation ($μ$SR) measurements on (Nd,Sm)AlGe single crystals, which exhibit antiferromagnetic (AFM) transitions at $T_\mathrm{N} = 6.1$ and 5.9 K, respectively. In addition, NdAlGe undergoes also an incommensurate-to-commensurate ferrimagnetic transition at 4.5 K. Weak transverse-field $μ$SR measurements confirm the AFM transitions, featuring a $\sim$90 % magnetic volume fraction. In both cases, zero-field (ZF) $μ$SR measurements reveal a more disordered internal field distribution in NdAlGe than in SmAlGe, reflected in a larger transverse muon-spin relaxation rate $λ^\mathrm{T}$ at $T \ll T_\mathrm{N}$. This may be due to the complex magnetic structure of NdAlGe, which undergoes a series of metamagnetic transitions in an external magnetic field, while SmAlGe shows only a robust AFM order. In NdAlGe, the topological Hall effect (THE) appears between the first and the second metamagnetic transitions for $H \parallel c$, while it is absent in SmAlGe. Such THE in NdAlGe is most likely attributed to the field-induced topological spin textures. The longitudinal muon-spin relaxation rate $λ^\mathrm{L}(T)$, diverges near the AFM order, followed by a clear drop at $T < T_\mathrm{N}$. In the magnetically ordered state, spin fluctuations are significantly stronger in NdAlGe than in SmAlGe. In general, our longitudinal-field $μ$SR data indicate vigorous spin fluctuations in NdAlGe, thus providing valuable insights into the origin of THE and of the possible topological spin textures in $RE$Al(Si,Ge) Weyl semimetals.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_16425
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spin order and dynamics in the topological rare-earth germanide semimetals
Wang, Yuhao
Zhen, Zhixuan
Meng, Jing
Plokhikh, Igor
Wu, Delong
Gawryluk, Dariusz J.
Xu, Yang
Zhan, Qingfeng
Shi, Ming
Pomjakushina, Ekaterina
Shiroka, Toni
Shang, Tian
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
The $RE$Al(Si,Ge) ($RE$ = rare earth) family, known to break both the inversion- and time-reversal symmetries, represents one of the most suitable platforms for investigating the interplay between correlated-electron phenomena and topologically nontrivial bands. Here, we report on systematic magnetic, transport, and muon-spin rotation and relaxation ($μ$SR) measurements on (Nd,Sm)AlGe single crystals, which exhibit antiferromagnetic (AFM) transitions at $T_\mathrm{N} = 6.1$ and 5.9 K, respectively. In addition, NdAlGe undergoes also an incommensurate-to-commensurate ferrimagnetic transition at 4.5 K. Weak transverse-field $μ$SR measurements confirm the AFM transitions, featuring a $\sim$90 % magnetic volume fraction. In both cases, zero-field (ZF) $μ$SR measurements reveal a more disordered internal field distribution in NdAlGe than in SmAlGe, reflected in a larger transverse muon-spin relaxation rate $λ^\mathrm{T}$ at $T \ll T_\mathrm{N}$. This may be due to the complex magnetic structure of NdAlGe, which undergoes a series of metamagnetic transitions in an external magnetic field, while SmAlGe shows only a robust AFM order. In NdAlGe, the topological Hall effect (THE) appears between the first and the second metamagnetic transitions for $H \parallel c$, while it is absent in SmAlGe. Such THE in NdAlGe is most likely attributed to the field-induced topological spin textures. The longitudinal muon-spin relaxation rate $λ^\mathrm{L}(T)$, diverges near the AFM order, followed by a clear drop at $T < T_\mathrm{N}$. In the magnetically ordered state, spin fluctuations are significantly stronger in NdAlGe than in SmAlGe. In general, our longitudinal-field $μ$SR data indicate vigorous spin fluctuations in NdAlGe, thus providing valuable insights into the origin of THE and of the possible topological spin textures in $RE$Al(Si,Ge) Weyl semimetals.
title Spin order and dynamics in the topological rare-earth germanide semimetals
topic Strongly Correlated Electrons
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.16425