title: Magnetic phase diagram of the helimagnetic spinel compound ZnCr2Se4 revisited by small-angle neutron scattering.
abstract: We performed small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements on the helimagnetic spinel compound ZnCr2Se4. The ground state of this material is a multi-domain spin-spiral phase, which undergoes domain selection in a magnetic field and reportedly exhibits a transition to a proposed spin-nematic phase at higher fields. We observed a continuous change in the magnetic structure as a function of field and temperature, as well as a weak discontinuous jump in the spiral pitch across the domain-selection transition upon increasing field. From our SANS results we have established the absence of any long-range magnetic order in the high-field (spin-nematic) phase. We also found that all the observed phase transitions are surprisingly isotropic with respect to the field direction.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Festkörperphysik, TU Dresden, D-01069 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: Y V
authors.initials: YV
authors.lastname: Tymoshenko
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Portnichenko
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gavilano
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tsurkan
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Felea
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loidl
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zherlitsyn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wosnitza
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Inosov