Magnetic and crystal structures of the magnetoelectric pyroxene LiCrSi2O6

Gwilherm Nenert (1) , M. Isobe (2) , Clemens Ritter (3) , Olivier Isnard (4) , A.-N. Vasiliev (5) , Y. Ueda (2)

1 INAC - Institut Nanosciences et Cryogénie
2 ISSP - Institute for Solid State Physics [Tokyo]
3 ILL - Institut Laue-Langevin
4 NEEL - MRS - Matériaux, Rayonnements, Structure
5 Low Temperature Physics Department

We investigated the magnetic and crystal structures of the recent reported magnetoelectric system LiCrSi2O6 by powder neutron diffraction. Below TN=11.5 K, an antiferromagnetic order appears. It is characterized by an antiferromagnetic coupling within the CrO6 octahedra chains and a ferromagnetic coupling between the chains. The magnetic order is commensurate with the lattice with k=0. The associated magnetic space group is P21 /c. This symmetry is in agreement with the reported magnetoelectric effect. We show that the magnetic frustration in this system is small. Finally, we discuss our results using a Landau phenomenological model and in the light of the literature.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Gwilherm Nenert, M. Isobe, Clemens Ritter, Olivier Isnard, A.-N. Vasiliev, et al.. Magnetic and crystal structures of the magnetoelectric pyroxene LiCrSi2O6. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2009, 79, pp.064416. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.79.064416⟩. ⟨hal-00967503⟩