In-depth study of the $H -T$ phase diagram of Sr4Ru3O10 by magnetization experiments

TL;DR

This study investigates the complex magnetic phase diagram of Sr4Ru3O10 through magnetization experiments, revealing intrinsic double metamagnetic transitions and mapping critical fields and temperatures within the ferromagnetic phase.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed mapping of the $H-T$ phase diagram of Sr4Ru3O10, highlighting intrinsic double metamagnetism and critical endpoint behavior.

Findings

Double metamagnetic transition observed below $T_C$

Critical endpoint at (1 T, 80 K) for $H_{c2}$ boundary

Intrinsic origin of double transition confirmed

Abstract

We present magnetization measurements on Sr4Ru3O10 as a function of temperature and magnetic field applied perpendicular to the magnetic easy $c$-axis inside the ferromagnetic phase. Peculiar metamagnetism evolves in Sr4Ru3O10 below the ferromagnetic transition $T_{C}$ as a double step in the magnetization at two critical fields $H_{c1}$ and $H_{c2}$. We map the $H-T$ phase diagram with special focus on the temperature range 50\,K $\le T \le T_{C}$. We find that the critical field $H_{c1}(T)$ connects the field and temperature axes of the phase diagram, whereas the $H_{c2}$ boundary starts at 2.8\,T for the lowest temperatures and ends in a critical endpoint at (1\,T; 80\,K). We conclude from the temperature dependence of the ratio $\frac{Hc1}{Hc2}(T)$ that the double metamagnetic transition is an intrinisc effect of the material and it is not caused by sample stacking faults such as twinning or partial in-plane rotation between layers.