Abstract
intermetalic compounds with heavy rare-earth elements show first-order phase transitions in high magnetic fields due to the competition between the exchange interaction and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. However, the microscopic picture of the field-induced noncollinear magnetic structures remains elusive. Here we report the direct experimental observation of the coherent stepwise rotation of the and magnetic moments of the uniaxial hard ferrimagnet by using soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism in pulsed magnetic fields up to 25 T. The element- and shell-selective moments show a transition from the collinear ferrimagnet toward the forced ferromagnetic state via a canted phase, which is explained by a two-sublattice model.
- Received 25 February 2020
- Revised 20 April 2020
- Accepted 30 April 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.174430
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