Temperature- and field-induced magnetic phase transitions in : A neutron diffraction study
Phys. Rev. B 112, 064406 – Published 4 August, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/prx2-8hm7
Abstract
In this report, a comprehensive neutron diffraction study as a function of temperature and magnetic field up to 5 T has been carried out to evaluate the complex magnetic structures of the multiferroic material . The compound is stabilized in an orthorhombic crystal structure with Pnma space group and consists of corner-sharing Fe(1) and Fe(2) polyhedral rings formed along the axis, exhibiting complex magnetic orderings. For , a collinear antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave (AFM-SDW) structure of moments with has been observed. For , a commensurate magnetic ordering with arises from both the and sites, forming interchain AFM and intrachain AFM correlations, respectively. Further, the magnetic structure at is attributed to a multi- noncoplanar noncollinear antiferromagnet with . The analysis of magnetic-field-dependent neutron powder diffraction (NPD) data reveals a significant influence of the magnetic field on the lattice parameters and the magnetic spin structures of . A complex magnetic phase diagram in the H-T plane consisting of six ordered magnetic states has been determined. The corroboration of metamagnetic transitions to the microscopic magnetic structures at respective magnetic critical fields is established. The study demonstrates a strong coupling between lattice parameters and magnetic spin orientations, positioning as a promising temperature- and field-induced spin-lattice-coupled magnetodielectric material.