Uniaxial Pressure Tuning of Magnetic Phases in PdCrO2

Abstract

Uniaxial pressure can be used to tune the competing interaction energies of frustrated magnets. PdCrO₂ is such a frustrated antiferromagnet below a Néel temperature of 37.5 K. A previous study discovered a double-to-single-q transition under a uniaxial compression of –0.4 GPa, and predicts a Néel transition at –1 GPa [1].  In this talk, I present stress-strain measurements as well as XRD and neutron diffraction measurements on PdCrO₂ under uniaxial pressure. Thereby, not only the presence of the double-to-single-q transition is confirmed, but a new phase is revealed. The phase is characterized by a 30% increase of the Young’s modulus compared to the unstressed lattice, as well as a change of the magnetic structure. The magnetic structure of the new phase at ≈ –1GPa is, other than predicted, not a Néel-type magnetic order. 

[1] D. Sun et al., New J. Phys. 23, 123050 (2021).

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