Universal Spin-Flip Transition in Itinerant Antiferromagnets

TL;DR

This paper uncovers a universal temperature-driven spin-flip transition in spin-density-wave systems, revealing a fundamental behavior of itinerant antiferromagnets and providing insights into longstanding magnetic puzzles.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the spin-flip transition is universal in SDW systems and offers a new qualitative probe of the itinerant nature of antiferromagnetism.

Findings

Identifies a temperature-induced spin-flip transition in SDW systems.

Explains the transition as a universal feature of itinerant antiferromagnets.

Provides experimental predictions for SDW-I to SDW-II transition in Bechgaard salts.

Abstract

We report a universal spin flip (SF) transition as a function of temperature in spin-density-wave (SDW) systems. At low temperatures the antiferromagnetic (AFM) polarization is parallel to the applied field and above a critical temperature the AFM polarization {\it flips} perpendicular to the field. This transition occurs in {\it any} SDW system and may be considered as a qualitative probe of the itinerant character of AFM in a given material. Our SF transition resolves the longstanding puzzle of the SF transition observed in cromium and may be at the origin of the equally puzzling SDW-I to SDW-II transition in Bechgaard salts for which we make experimental predictions.