Cascade of magnetic-field-driven quantum phase transitions in Ce3Pd20Si6

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • F. Mazza - , Vienna University of Technology, ILL - Institut Laue-Langevin (Author)
  • P. Y. Portnichenko - , Institute of Solid State and Materials Physics (Author)
  • S. Avdoshenko - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • P. Steffens - , ILL - Institut Laue-Langevin (Author)
  • M. Boehm - , ILL - Institut Laue-Langevin (Author)
  • Eun Sang Choi - , Florida State University (Author)
  • M. Nikolo - , Saint Louis University (Author)
  • X. Yan - , Vienna University of Technology (Author)
  • A. Prokofiev - , Vienna University of Technology (Author)
  • S. Paschen - , Vienna University of Technology (Author)
  • D. S. Inosov - , Chair of Neutron Spectroscopy of Condensed Matter (Author)

Abstract

Magnetically hidden order is a hypernym for electronic ordering phenomena that are visible to macroscopic thermodynamic probes but whose microscopic symmetry cannot be revealed with conventional neutron or x-ray diffraction. In a handful of f-electron systems, the ordering of odd-rank multipoles leads to order parameters with a vanishing neutron cross section. Among them, Ce3Pd20Si6 is known for its unique phase diagram exhibiting two distinct multipolar-ordered ground states (phases II and II′), separated by a field-driven quantum phase transition associated with a putative change in the ordered quadrupolar moment from O20 to Oxy. Using torque magnetometry at sub-kelvin temperatures, here we find another phase transition at higher fields above 12 T, which appears only for low-symmetry magnetic field directions B (11L) with 1<L≤2. While the order parameter of this new phase II′′ remains unknown, the discovery renders Ce3Pd20Si6 a unique material with two field-driven phase transitions between distinct multipolar phases. They are both clearly manifested in the magnetic-field dependence of the field-induced (111) Bragg intensities measured with neutron scattering for B [112¯]. We also find from inelastic neutron scattering that the number of nondegenerate collective excitations induced by the magnetic field correlates with the number of phases in the magnetic phase diagram for the same field direction. Furthermore, the magnetic excitation spectrum suggests that the new phase II′′ may have a different propagation vector, revealed by the minimum in the dispersion that may represent the Goldstone mode of this hidden-order phase.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number174429
Number of pages11
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume105
Issue number17
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85131330934

Keywords

Keywords

  • Quadrupolar ordering phase, Multipolar excitations, Neutron-scattering, Hidden-order, Ceb6, Criticality, Dynamics, Raman

Library keywords