The magnetic structure of holmium. I

The magnetic structure of the incommensurate spiral phase of holmium has been studied using elastic neutron scattering for temperatures between 30 and 18K, the temperature region just above the transition to a ferromagnetic cone phase with a wavevector of 1/6 c*. The results show that the structure consists of commensurate regions separated by spin discommensurations or spin slips. In the commensurate regions, pairs of spins (one on each sublattice) deviate by about 10 degrees from each of the easy directions within the plane, and there is evidence for a c axis antiferromagnetic component which changes domain type from one commensurate region to another. The spin slips, which occur on alternate sublattices, have one plane of spins aligned with the planar easy directions, and are found to disturb the commensurate regions for about three planes on either side of each spin slip.

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