Novel pressure-induced magnetic transition in magnetite (Fe3O4).
Fe K-edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism of magnetite (Fe3O4) powders was measured with synchrotron radiation under variable pressure and temperature conditions in diamond anvil cell. The magnetic dichroism was observed to decrease discontinuously by approximately 50% between 12 and 16 GPa, independent of temperature. The magnetic transition is attributed to a high-spin to intermediate-spin transition of Fe2+ ions in the octahedral sites and could account for previously observed structural and electrical anomalies in magnetite at this pressure range. The interpretation of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism data is supported by x-ray emission spectroscopy and theoretical cluster calculations.
Ding
Yang
Y
HPSynC, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA. yangding@aps.anl.gov
Haskel
Daniel
D
Ovchinnikov
Sergei G
SG
Tseng
Yuan-Chieh
YC
Orlov
Yuri S
YS
Lang
Jonathan C
JC
Mao
Ho-kwang
HK