Collinear antiferromagnetic order in URu$_2$Si$_{2-x}$P$_x$ revealed by neutron diffraction

TL;DR

This study reveals a collinear antiferromagnetic order in URu$_2$Si$_{2-x}$P$_x$ at high phosphorus doping, using neutron diffraction to understand how chemical substitution influences magnetic phases and electron localization.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates the emergence of a new antiferromagnetic phase in URu$_2$Si$_{2-x}$P$_x$ and links it to chemical potential changes caused by silicon-to-phosphorus substitution.

Findings

Identification of a collinear antiferromagnetic structure at x≈0.28

Localization of magnetic moments around 2.1 μ_B

Comparison of substitution effects with other tuning methods

Abstract

The hidden order phase in URu$_2$Si$_2$ is highly sensitive to electronic doping. A special interest in silicon-to-phosphorus substitution is due to the fact that it may allow one, in part, to isolate the effects of tuning the chemical potential from the complexity of the correlated $f$ and $d$ electronic states. We investigate the new antiferromagnetic phase that is induced in URu$_2$Si$_{2-x}$P$_x$ at $x\gtrsim0.27$. Time-of-flight neutron diffraction of a single crystal ($x=0.28$) reveals $c$-axis collinear $\mathbf{q}_\mathrm{m}=(\frac12,\frac12,\frac12)$ magnetic structure with localized magnetic moments ($\approx2.1\,\mu_\mathrm{B}$). This points to an unexpected analogy between the (Si,P) and (Ru,Rh) substitution series. Through further comparisons with other tuning studies of URu$_2$Si$_2$, we are able to delineate the mechanisms by which silicon-to-phosphorus substitution affects the system. In particular, both the localization of itinerant 5$f$ electrons as well as the choice of $\mathbf{q}_m$ appears to be consequences of the increase in chemical potential. Further, enhanced exchange interactions are induced by chemical pressure and lead to magnetic order, in which an increase in inter-layer spacing may play a special role.