Spin and charge density waves in the quasi-one-dimensional KMn6Bi5

TL;DR

This study reveals incommensurate spin density waves and charge density waves in KMn6Bi5, highlighting their interplay with lattice effects and providing insights into its magnetic structure and potential superconductivity mechanisms.

Contribution

First observation of transverse incommensurate SDWs and charge density waves in KMn6Bi5, elucidating their coupling and magnetic structure in this new superconductor family.

Findings

SDWs have amplitudes of ~2.46 and ~0.29 Bohr magnetons for Mn atoms.

Charge density waves with a q-vector twice that of SDWs were observed.

Significant magnetoelastic effects occur during the AFM transition.

Abstract

AMn6Bi5 materials (A = Na, K, Rb and Cs) consisting of unique Mn-cluster chains emerge as a new family of superconductors with the suppression of their antiferromagnetic (AFM) order under high pressures. Here, we report transverse incommensurate spin density waves (SDWs) for the Mn atoms with a propagating direction along the chain axes as a ground state for KMn6Bi5 by single crystal neutron diffraction. The SDWs have a refined amplitude of ~2.46 Bohr magnetons for the Mn atoms in the pentagons and ~0.29 Bohr magnetons with a large standard deviation for Mn atoms in the center between the pentagons. AFM dominate both the nearest-neighbor Mn-Mn interactions within the pentagon and next-nearest-neighbor Mn-Mn interactions out of the pentagon (along the propagating wave). The SDWs exhibit both local and itinerant characteristics probably formed by a cooperative interaction between local magnetic exchange and conduction electrons. A significant magnetoelastic effect during the AFM transition, especially along the chain direction, has been demonstrated by temperature-dependent x-ray powder diffraction. Single crystal x-ray diffraction below the AFM transition revealed satellite peaks originating from charge density waves along the chain direction with a q-vector twice as large as the SDW one, pointing to a strong real space coupling between them. Our work not only manifests a fascinating interplay among spin, charge, lattice and one dimensionality to trigger intertwined orders in KMn6Bi5 but also provides important piece of information for the magnetic structure of the parent compound to understand the mechanism of superconductivity in this new family.