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Spin-Density Wave as a Superposition of Two Magnetic States of Opposite Chirality and Its Implications
Elijah E Gordon1, Shahab Derakhshan2, Corey M Thompson3
1Department of Chemistry , North Carolina State University (NCSU) , Raleigh , North Carolina 27695-8204 , United States.
Abstract:
A magnetic solid with weak spin frustration tends to adopt a noncollinear magnetic structure such as a cycloidal structure below a certain temperature and a spin-density wave (SDW) slightly above this temperature. The causes for these observations were explored by studying the magnetic structure of BaYFeO4, which undergoes a SDW and a cycloidal phase transition below 48 and 36 K, respectively, in terms of the density functional theory calculations. We show that a SDW structure arises from a superposition of two magnetic states of opposite chirality, an SDW state precedes a chiral magnetic state because of the lattice relaxation, and whether a SDW is transversal or longitudinal is governed by the magnetic anisotropy of magnetic ions.
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