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arXiv · 2203.12498

Effective decoupling of ferromagnetic sublattices by frustration in Heusler alloys

F. Cugini·S. Chicco·F. Orlandi·G. Allodi·P. Bonfa·V. Vezzoni·O. N. Miroshkina·M. E. Gruner·L. Righi·S. Fabbrici·F. Albertini·R. De Renzi·M. Solzi
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Abstract

Magnetic frustration in ferromagnetic metallic systems is unusual due to the long-range and symmetric nature of the exchange interactions. In this work we prove that it is possible to obtain a highly frustrated ferromagnetic phase in a multi-sublattices cubic structure through a fine tuning of the magnetic interactions. This peculiar state is achieved in Ni-Mn-(In, Sn) Heusler alloys and results in the effective decoupling of their two intertwined ferromagnetic sublattices. One sublattice is ferromagnetic long range ordered below the macroscopic Curie temperature (TC ) whereas the second one remains disordered until a crossover to a polarized state occurs at T << TC . This result points out that a fine engineering of the magnetic interactions in metallic systems can lead to interesting novel and emergent phenomena.

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F. Cugini, S. Chicco, F. Orlandi, G. Allodi, P. Bonfa, V. Vezzoni, O. N. Miroshkina, M. E. Gruner, L. Righi, S. Fabbrici, F. Albertini, R. De Renzi, M. Solzi. 2022-03-23. Effective decoupling of ferromagnetic sublattices by frustration in Heusler alloys. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.105.174434

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