Heavy Fermion Behavior in d-Electron Antiferromagnet Mn3P

April 13, 2020
Heavy Fermion Behavior in d-Electron Antiferromagnet Mn3P
Temperature-pressure (T-P) phase diagram of Mn3P, showing a quantum critical point near 1.6 GPa. The inset shows the helical spin structure of 6 Mn sites below TN2, determined from neutron diffraction.

Scientific Achievement

Mn3P is shown to exhibit heavy-fermion behavior and possesses a complex helimagnetic structure accompanied by a double transition and pressure-tuned quantum criticality.

Significance and Impact

Heavy fermions are often associated with localized f-electrons, interacting with conducting electrons. Mn3P may represent a new paradigm for heavy fermion behavior, observed here in a system with magnetic frustration and itinerant d-electrons.

Research Details

  • Thermodynamic and transport measurements were used to verify the heavy electron behavior and overall phase temperature-pressure phase diagram.
  • Neutron diffraction revealed long range helical magnetic order at low T and P. 

 

“Helimagnetic Structure and Heavy-Fermion-Like Behavior in the Vicinity of the Quantum Critical Point in Mn3P,”
Hisashi Kotegawa1, Masaaki Matsuda2, Feng Ye2, Yuki Tani1, Kohei Uda1, Yoshiki Kuwata1, Hideki Tou1, Eiichi Matsuoka1, Hitoshi Sugawara1, Takahiro Sakurai3, Hitoshi Ohta1,4, Hisatomo Harima1, Keiki Takeda5, Junichi Hayashi5, Shingo Araki6, and Tatsuo C. Kobayashi6,
Physical Review Letters, 124, 087202 (2020).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.087202