Coexistence of half-metallic itinerant ferromagnetism with local-moment antiferromagnetism in Ba0.60K0.40Mn2As2.
Magnetization, nuclear magnetic resonance, high-resolution x-ray diffraction, and magnetic field-dependent neutron diffraction measurements reveal a novel magnetic ground state of Ba0.60K0.40Mn2As2 in which itinerant ferromagnetism (FM) below a Curie temperature TC≈100  K arising from the doped conduction holes coexists with collinear antiferromagnetism (AFM) of the Mn local moments that order below a Néel temperature TN=480  K. The FM ordered moments are aligned in the tetragonal ab plane and are orthogonal to the AFM ordered Mn moments that are aligned along the c axis. The magnitude and nature of the low-T FM ordered moment correspond to complete polarization of the doped-hole spins (half-metallic itinerant FM) as deduced from magnetization and ab-plane electrical resistivity measurements.
Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA. apandey@ameslab.gov
Abhishek
A
Pandey
B G
BG
Ueland
S
S
Yeninas
A
A
Kreyssig
A
A
Sapkota
Yang
Y
Zhao
J S
JS
Helton
J W
JW
Lynn
R J
RJ
McQueeney
Y
Y
Furukawa
A I
AI
Goldman
D C
DC
Johnston