arXiv subjects

Tianxiong Han

Publications and source records attributed to Tianxiong Han.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Defect-induced optical magnons and local magnetic correlations in MnSb2Te4

Magnetic defect engineering offers a route to manipulate and control magnetic and electronic states in quantum materials. In the Mn(Bi,Sb)2Te4 family of topological magnetic insulators, Sb substitution facilitates site mixing between Mn and Sb atoms that affects magnetic order and band topology. Here we directly probe these defect-induced magnetic interactions using inelastic neutron scattering on single crystals of MnSb2Te4. We find that antisite mixing generates inequivalent and disordered magnetic sublattices where strong defect-induced antiferromagnetic coupling produces an optical magnon with a large gap. Semi-classical spin-dynamics simulations accurately capture magnetic excitations in the ordered and paramagnetic states and identify that linear Mn-Te-Mn bonds mediate coupling to antisite magnetic defects.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Chiral Magnon Mixing by Symmetry-Breaking in Collinear Ferrimagnets

Magnons in ferromagnets possess spin angular momentum defined by right-handed precession of the moment around the magnetization direction. In antiferromagnets with no net magnetization, left-and right-handed magnons are degenerate in the absence of an applied field. Ferrimagnets possess uncompensated magnetic sublattices, which should natively possess right-and left-handed magnons where their energy is split by the internal molecular field. Here, we show that RMn6Sn6 (R = Tb, Er) ferrimagnets possess right and left-handed magnon bands that cross at finite momentum (k) within the basal plane, defining modes with opposite dynamical chirality. Depending on the symmetry of the ferrimagnetic order, which may be manipulated by varying the rare-earth magnetic anisotropy or with applied field, the band crossing may remain a nodal line or may be gapped. The gapped modes contain hybridized chiral excitations whose chirality becomes k-dependent.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Hidden symmetry-breaking in a kagome Ising ferromagnet

Kagome metals can host unconventional electronic phenomena that emerge from their frustrated lattice geometry and associated band topology. Correlated electronic orders, such as charge-density waves and superconductivity, are observed to intertwine with subtle time-reversal symmetry breaking whose microscopic origin is not currently understood. Here, we provide evidence for such time-reversal symmetry breaking in the kagome metal TbV$_6$Sn$_6$ arising from staggered magnetic moments within the kagome layers. TbV$_6$Sn$_6$ consists of metallic V kagome layers separated by Tb triangular layers that host Ising ferromagnetic order. Deep in the ferromagnetic state, the Tb Ising doublet ground state should display a single, dispersionless spin-flip excitation. Instead, inelastic neutron scattering reveals two sharp excitations associated with inequivalent Tb sites, demonstrating that a symmetry-broken phase coexists with Ising ferromagnetism. No additional structural or magnetic phase transitions are detected, and first-principles calculations rule out lattice distortions as the origin of the splitting. We attribute this effect to time-reversal symmetry breaking encoded by small V moments that couple to the Tb sublattice and leave a measurable spectral fingerprint. Our results establish rare-earth local moment spectroscopy as a sensitive probe of subtle broken symmetries and highlight an unexpected interplay between kagome magnetism and rare-earth local moment magnetism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Nature of quantum criticality in the Ising ferromagnet TbV$_6$Sn$_6$

TbV$_6$Sn$_6$ is a topological metal where ferromagnetic Tb ions with strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy interact with V kagome layers. Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements show that the Tb ions adopt an Ising doublet ground state. Here, we consider whether a transverse magnetic field can drive TbV$_6$Sn$_6$ toward a quantum critical point, providing a rare example of transverse-field Ising criticality in a metallic compound. High-field magnetization measurements reveal a first-order-like spin-reorientation transition at 25.6 T. Our INS-based magnetic model finds that this is caused by an avoided crossing of an excited-state singlet with the ground-state doublet. Surprisingly, our model predicts that quantum critical and tricritical points are accessible within the range of experimentally determined model parameters and may be reached by varying the direction of an applied magnetic field.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

New insight into tuning magnetic phases of $R$Mn$_6$Sn$_6$ kagome metals

Predicting magnetic ordering in kagome compounds offers the possibility of harnessing topological or flat-band physical properties through tuning of the magnetism. Here, we examine the magnetic interactions and phases of ErMn$_6$Sn$_6$ which belongs to a family of $R$Mn$_6$Sn$_6$, $R=$ Sc, Y, Gd--Lu, compounds with magnetic kagome Mn layers, triangular $R$ layers, and signatures of topological properties. Using results from single-crystal neutron diffraction and mean-field analysis, we find that ErMn$_6$Sn$_6$ sits close to the critical boundary separating the spiral-magnetic and ferrimagnetic ordered states typical for nonmagnetic versus magnetic $R$ layers, respectively. Finding interlayer magnetic interactions and easy-plane Mn magnetic anisotropy consistent with other members of the family, we predict the existence of a number of temperature and field dependent collinear, noncollinear, and noncoplanar magnetic phases. We show that thermal fluctuations of the Er magnetic moment, which act to weaken the Mn-Er interlayer magnetic interaction and quench the Er magnetic anisotropy, dictate magnetic phase stability. Our results provide a starting point and outline a multitude of possibilities for studying the behavior of Dirac fermions in $R$Mn$_6$Sn$_6$ compounds with control of the Mn spin orientation and real-space spin chirality.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Europium $c$-axis ferromagnetism in Eu(Co$_{1-x}$Ni$_{x}$)$_{2-y}$As$_{2}$: A single-crystal neutron diffraction study

We report neutron diffraction results for the body-centered-tetragonal series Eu(Co$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$)$_{2-y}$As$_2$, $x=0.10$, $0.20$, $0.42$, and $0.82$, $y\leq0.10$, that detail changes to the magnetic ordering with nominal hole doping. We report the antiferromagnetic (AFM) propagation vectors, magnetic transition temperatures, and the ordered magnetic moments. We find a nonmonotonic change of the AFM propagation vector with $x$, with a minimum occurring at the tetragonal to collapsed-tetragonal phase crossover. For $x=0.10$ and $0.82$ we find $c$-axis helix ordering of the Eu magnetic moments (spins) similar to $x=0$ and $1$, with the spins oriented within the $ab$-plane. For $x=0.20$ and $0.42$ we find higher-temperature $c$-axis FM order and lower-temperature $c$-axis cone order. Using the extinction conditions for the space group, we discovered that the Eu spins are ordered in the higher-temperature $c$-axis FM phase for intermediate values of $x$, contrary to a previous report suggesting only Co/Ni spin ordering. Although we cannot directly confirm that the Co/Ni spins are also ordered, we suggest that $c$-axis itinerant-FM ordering of the Co/Ni spins could provide a molecular field that drives FM ordering of the Eu spins, which in turn provides the anisotropy for the lower-temperature $c$-axis cone order.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Orbital character of the spin-reorientation transition in TbMn$_6$Sn$_6$

Ferromagnetic (FM) order in a two-dimensional kagome layer is predicted to generate a topological Chern insulator without an applied magnetic field. The Chern gap is largest when spin moments point perpendicular to the kagome layer, enabling the capability to switch topological transport properties, such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect, by controlling the spin orientation. In TbMn$_{6}$Sn$_{6}$, the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy of the Tb$^{3+}$ ion is effective at generating the Chern state within the FM Mn kagome layers while a spin-reorientation (SR) transition to easy-plane order above $T_{SR}=310$ K provides a mechanism for switching. Here, we use inelastic neutron scattering to provide key insights into the fundamental nature of the SR transition. The observation of two Tb excitations, which are split by the magnetic anisotropy energy, indicates an effective two-state orbital character for the Tb ion, with a uniaxial ground state and an isotropic excited state. The simultaneous observation of both modes below $T_{SR}$ confirms that orbital fluctuations are slow on magnetic and electronic time scales $<$ ps and act as a spatially-random orbital alloy. A thermally-driven critical concentration of isotropic Tb ions triggers the SR transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Chiral and flat-band magnetic cluster excitations in a ferromagnetic kagome metal

TbMn6Sn6 is a metallic ferrimagnet that displays signatures of band topology arising from a combination of uniaxial ferromagnetism and spin-orbit coupling within its Mn kagome layers. Whereas the low energy magnetic excitations can be described as collective spin waves using a local moment Heisenberg model, sharply defined optical and flat-band collective magnon modes are not observed. In their place, we find overdamped chiral and flat-band spin correlations that are localized to hexagonal plaquettes within the kagome layer.

cond-mat.str-el↗