Intrinsic Structural Disorder and the Magnetic Ground State in Bulk EuTiO3

TL;DR

This study reveals that intrinsic structural disorder in EuTiO3 affects its magnetic ground state, and electric field cooling can restore its crystallinity, with magnetic phases characterized by torque magnetometry and modeled by a 3D anisotropic Heisenberg spin model.

Contribution

It demonstrates that structural disorder in EuTiO3 is intrinsic and can be controlled by electric field cooling, providing new insights into its magnetic behavior.

Findings

Electric field cooling restores monocrystallinity.

EuTiO3 transitions from easy-axis to easy-plane antiferromagnetic phase.

Magnetic behavior is modeled by a 3D anisotropic Heisenberg spin model.

Abstract

The magnetic properties of single-crystal EuTiO3 are suggestive of nanoscale disorder below its cubic-tetragonal phase transition. We demonstrate that electric field cooling acts to restore monocrystallinity, thus confirming that emergent structural disorder is an intrinsic low-temperature property of this material. Using torque magnetometry, we deduce that tetragonal EuTiO3 enters an easy-axis antiferromagnetic phase at 5.6 K, with a first-order transition to an easy-plane ground state below 3 K. Our data is reproduced by a 3D anisotropic Heisenberg spin model.