First-order phase transition to a nonmagnetic ground state in nonsymmorphic NbCrP

TL;DR

This paper reports a first-order phase transition at 125 K in NbCrP, a nonsymmorphic crystal, involving a change to a nonmagnetic metallic state with lower symmetry, driven by electronic instability.

Contribution

It presents the discovery of a novel phase transition in NbCrP and analyzes its electronic structure, comparing it with similar nonsymmorphic compounds.

Findings

Transition occurs at ~125 K with a 30% reduction in spin susceptibility.

High-temperature phase is metallic with magnetic anisotropy.

Low-temperature phase is a nonmagnetic metallic state with lower symmetry.

Abstract

We report the discovery of a first-order phase transition at around 125 K in NbCrP, which is a nonsymmorphic crystal with Pnma space group. From the resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and nuclear magnetic resonance measurements using the crystals made by the Sn-flux method, the high-temperature (HT) phase is characterized to be metallic with a non-negligible magnetic anisotropy. The low-temperature (LT) phase is also found to be a nonmagnetic metallic state with a crystal of lower symmetry. In the LT phase, the spin susceptibility is reduced by ~30 % from that in the HT phase, suggesting that the phase transition is triggered by the electronic instability. The possible origin of the phase transition in NbCrP is discussed based on the electronic structure by comparing with those in other nonsymmorphic compounds RuP and RuAs.