Magnetic structure of the noncentrosymmetric heavy-fermion superconductor CePt3Si

TL;DR

This study reveals the complex magnetic structure of CePt3Si, a noncentrosymmetric heavy-fermion superconductor, suggesting possible lower symmetry in its superconducting state based on neutron scattering analysis.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed determination of CePt3Si's magnetic structure using polarized neutron scattering, highlighting components both in-plane and along the tetragonal axis.

Findings

Magnetic moments have components in the basal plane and along the four-fold axis.

The magnetic structure may have lower symmetry than previously assumed.

Implications for the symmetry of the superconducting state.

Abstract

We have determined the magnetic structure of the noncentrosymmetric heavy-fermion superconductor CePt3Si using elastic polarized neutron scattering with field-projected (longitudinal) XYZ polarization analysis. We find that the magnetic moment has components both in the tetragonal basal plane and along the tetragonal four-fold axis. Such a magnetic structure is not symmetry-allowed if the magnetic phase transition is second order, and may imply that CePt3Si has lower symmetry in the superconducting state than originally thought.