Magnetoelastic nature of the dodecagonal anisotropy in holmium metal.
We have investigated the magnetoelastic nature of the dodecagonal anisotropy in the magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) in the basal plane of the hcp crystalline structure in holmium single crystal. We have proved that the origin of the second harmonic of the hexagonal symmetry in MAE clearly lies on a sixth-order magnetoelastic coupling term. The appearance of a 12-fold anisotropy in MAE in a single crystal having hexagonal symmetry provides a new insight on how the magnetic anisotropy can be modified in a magnetic material with giant spin-lattice coupling.
Departamento de Magnetismo de Sólidos, Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada and I.C.M.A, Universidad de Zaragoza and C.S.I.C., 50071 Zaragoza, Spain. lpb22@cam.ac.uk
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Benito
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Ciria
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Fraile
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Fort
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Abell
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Arnaudas