Incommensurate magnetic order in an axion insulator candidate EuIn$_2$As$_2$ investigated by NMR measurement

TL;DR

This study uses NMR measurements to explore the magnetic structure of EuIn₂As₂, revealing incommensurate magnetic order and a field-induced spin reorientation, which are crucial for understanding its potential as an axion insulator.

Contribution

First experimental NMR investigation of EuIn₂As₂ revealing incommensurate magnetic order and spin reorientation phenomena.

Findings

Detection of strong coupling between Eu magnetic moments and conduction electrons.

Observation of incommensurate fan-like spin structure at zero field.

Identification of a field-induced transition to a forced ferromagnetic state.

Abstract

Magnetic topological insulators exhibit unique electronic states due to the interplay between the electronic topology and the spin structure. The antiferromagnetic metal $\rm{EuIn_2As_2}$ is a prominent candidate material in which exotic topological phases, including an axion insulating state, are theoretically predicted depending on the magnetic structure of the $\rm{Eu}^{2+}$ moments. Here, we report experimental results of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of all the nuclei in $\rm{EuIn_2As_2}$ to investigate the coupling between the magnetic moments in the Eu ions and the conduction electrons in $\rm{In_2As_2}$ layers and the magnetic structure. The $^{75}\rm{As}$ and $^{115}\rm{In}$ NMR spectra observed at zero external magnetic field reveal the appearance of internal fields of $4.9$ and $3.6\ \rm{T}$ respectively at the lowest temperature, suggesting a strong coupling between the conduction electrons in the $\rm{In_2As_2}$ layer and the ordered magnetic moments in the Eu ions. The $^{75}\rm{As}$ NMR spectra under in-plane external magnetic fields show broad distributions of the internal fields produced by an incommensurate fan-like spin structure which turns into a forced ferromagnetic state above $0.7\ \rm{T}$. We propose a spin reorientation process that an incommensurate helical state at zero external magnetic field quickly changes into a fan state by applying a slight magnetic field.