Low-energy planar magnetic defects in BaFe As : Nanotwins, twins, antiphase, and domain boundaries
- Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States)
- Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States); Indian Inst. of Technology (IIT), Mumbai (India)
- Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States); Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)
In BaFe2As2, structural and magnetic planar defects begin to proliferate below the structural phase transition, affecting descriptions of magnetism and superconductivity. We study, using density-functional theory, the stability and magnetic properties of competing antiphase and domain boundaries, twins and isolated nanotwins (twin nuclei), and spin excitations proposed and/or observed. These nanoscale defects have a very low surface energy (22–210 m Jm-2), with twins favorable to the mesoscale. Defects exhibit smaller moments confined near their boundaries—making a uniform-moment picture inappropriate for long-range magnetic order in real samples. Nanotwins explain features in measured pair distribution functions so should be considered when analyzing scattering data. All these defects can be weakly mobile and/or can have fluctuations that lower assessed “ordered” moments from longer spatial and/or time averaging and should be considered directly.
- Research Organization:
- Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11358
- OSTI ID:
- 1133350
- Report Number(s):
- IS-J 8205; PRBMDO
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 88, Issue 18; ISSN 1098-0121
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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