Field-driven magnetisation steps in Ca3Co2O6: A single-crystal neutron-diffraction study

TL;DR

This study uses single-crystal neutron diffraction to analyze magnetic order changes in Ca3Co2O6 under varying temperature and magnetic fields, revealing detailed microscopic magnetic structures and their evolution.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the microscopic magnetic order and its evolution during magnetization steps in Ca3Co2O6 using neutron diffraction.

Findings

Identification of magnetic Bragg peak intensity changes with temperature and field.

Observation of evolution in long and short-range magnetic order components.

Correlation between magnetic order and magnetization steps.

Abstract

We present single-crystal neutron-diffraction data for the spin-chain compound Ca3Co2O6. The intensity and line shapes of the two families of Bragg peaks characterising both the antiferromagnetic and the ferromagnetic components of the magnetic order present in this material have been measured as a function of temperature and applied magnetic fields of up to 5 T. We have studied the microscopic nature of the magnetic order at each step seen in the bulk magnetisation and investigated the evolution of the long and short-range components of the magnetic order in Ca3Co2O6.