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Microscopic magnetic phase evolution in the Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn revealed by μ+SR

U. Miniotaite1,*, O. K. Forslund2, H. Luetkens3, V. Rai4,5, J. Perßon5, G. D. Morris6, D. Zuhair1, D. W. Tam1,7, S. Nandi5,8 et al.

Y. Sassa1,† and M. Månsson1,‡

  • *Contact author: ugnem@kth.se
  • †Contact author: sassa@kth.se
  • ‡Contact author: condmat@kth.se
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 144419 – Published 21 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/t9y2-h8th

Abstract

We report a comprehensive muon spin relaxation (μ+SR) and bulk magnetization study of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) Weyl semimetal Mn3Sn (composition Mn2.99Sn). Mn3Sn is reported to exhibit a commensurate inverse triangular (IT) AFM phase, an incommensurate (IC) helical AFM phase, and a proposed low-temperature spin-glass-like state. In our sample, we identify the characteristic temperatures associated with these regimes as Néel temperature (TN=418K), a macroscopic bulk transition temperature between IT-AFM to IC helical phase (Tt≈275K), and low-temperature transition Tf=21K. Investigating the low-temperature regime below Tf, we find no evidence of a static spin-glass state. Instead, the sample exhibits an increasing ferromagnetic component accompanied by a localized slowing of spin fluctuations, indicating that these phenomena may be decoupled. In the IC helical AFM phase, the zero-field spectra are best described by damped oscillations with an empirical phase offset, consistent with anharmonic and amplitude-modulated order reported by scattering studies. Upon warming above 150 K, a continuous redistribution of muon spectral weight reveals a broad, homogeneous magnetic crossover between the IC helical and IT-AFM phases. In the commensurate IT-AFM phase above Tt, a persistent missing fraction in the initial asymmetry indicates that a subset of implanted muons, corresponding to roughly 20% of the sample-related asymmetry, undergoes unresolved ultrafast depolarization. Finally, we observe temperature-driven shifts in muon site populations above 325 K. Ultimately, our results show a highly dynamic magnetic landscape in Mn3Sn, demonstrating how its complex magnetic orders often coexist and evolve continuously with temperature.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 144419– Published 21 September, 2026
  • Received 14 July 2026
  • Accepted 27 August 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by Bibsam.

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