Spin-lattice coupling and incommensurate magnetism in multiferroic
Phys. Rev. B 113, 195139 – Published 19 May, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/rb2d-qzqs
Abstract
Competing magnetic interactions and coupling to lattice degrees of freedom can stabilize complex spin orders in type-II multiferroic materials, leading to magnetically induced ferroelectricity. Here, we investigate the low-temperature crystal and magnetic structures of the spin-driven multiferroic using high-resolution synchrotron x-ray and neutron powder diffraction, complemented by macroscopic measurements. exhibits two successive antiferromagnetic transitions: an incommensurate collinear phase below , followed by an incommensurate noncollinear (NC) helical phase below . The magnetic order in these two phases is characterized by closely related incommensurate propagation vectors refined from powder neutron diffraction, indicating only a weak temperature dependence of the magnetic modulation. While both magnetic structures break inversion symmetry at the level of the magnetic modulation, ferroelectricity emerges only in the helical phase, where NC allows a finite spin chirality, consistent with spin-driven ferroelectricity commonly discussed within an inverse Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya framework. Subtle anomalies in lattice parameters observed near both magnetic transitions provide qualitative evidence of weak spin-lattice coupling, without detectable lowering of crystallographic symmetry. Together, these results establish a bulk-sensitive, temperature-dependent picture of how magnetic frustration, weak lattice responses, and NC spin order cooperate to stabilize the multiferroic ground state in .