Incommensurate Magnetic Order in TbTe$_3$

TL;DR

This study reveals incommensurate magnetic order in TbTe$_3$, showing strong 2D magnetic correlations in the paramagnetic phase and a transition to long-range magnetic order linked to charge-density-wave modulations.

Contribution

First neutron diffraction analysis of magnetic phase transitions in TbTe$_3$, identifying incommensurate magnetic order and its connection to charge-density-wave phenomena.

Findings

Strong 2D-like magnetic correlations in paramagnetic phase

Emergence of incommensurate magnetic order at 5.78 K

Magnetic Bragg peaks near the CDW propagation vector

Abstract

We report a neutron diffraction study of the magnetic phase transitions in the charge-density-wave (CDW) TbTe$_3$ compound. We discover that in the paramagnetic phase there are strong 2D-like magnetic correlations, consistent with the pronounced anisotropy of the chemical structure. A long-range incommensurate magnetic order emerges in TbTe$_3$ at $T_{mag1}$ = 5.78 K as a result of continuous phase transitions. We observe that near the temperature $T_{mag1}$ the magnetic Bragg peaks appear around the position (0,0,0.24) (or its rational multiples), that is fairly close to the propagation vector $(0,0,0.29)$ associated with the CDW phase transition in TbTe$_3$. This suggests that correlations leading to the long-range magnetic order in TbTe$_3$ are linked to the modulations that occur in the CDW state.