Magnetic structures in RNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C (R = Ho, Er) superconductors
- Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
- Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
Single crystal neutron diffraction techniques have been employed to study the evolution of magnetic structures in RNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C compounds in an attempt to understand the relationship between magnetic ordering and superconductivity in several members of this series. For HoNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C, below the superconducting transition (T{sub c} = 8 K), an incommensurate magnetic structure characterized by two wave vectors (0.585 a* and 0.915 c*) is found in a narrow temperature range between 4.7 K and 6 K. This is the same temperature range where bulk measurements find a deep minimum in the upper critical field, H{sub c2}. Below 4.7 K, HoNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C is a simple collinear antiferromagnet. ErNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C ({Tc} = 11 K) orders in an incommensurate modulated antiferromagnetic state characterized by an ordering wave vector 0.553 a* below 7 K, which coexists with superconductivity.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH00016; W-7405-ENG-82
- OSTI ID:
- 27043
- Report Number(s):
- BNL--61459; IS-M--758; CONF-941144--89; ON: DE95008370
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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