2007/03/12 by Yinwan Li, P. A. Montano, B. Barbiellini +4 · 1 citation
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Magnetic Properties and Synthesis of Ferrites #Multiferroics and related materials #cond-mat.mtrl-sci #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.jpcs.2007.03.037
published as J. Phys. Chem. Solids 68, 1556 (2007) · 5 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids
arxiv created 2007/03/12 · openalex publication_date 2007/03/28 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
In order to probe the magnetic ground state, we have carried out temperature dependent magnetic Compton scattering experiments on an oriented single crystal of magnetite (Fe3O4), together with the corresponding first-principles band theory computations to gain insight into the measurements. An accurate value of the magnetic moment μS associated with unpaired spins is obtained directly over the temperature range of 10-300K. μS is found to be non-integral and to display an anomalous behavior with the direction of the external magnetic field near the Verwey transition. These results reveal how the magnetic properties enter the Verwey energy scale via spin-orbit coupling and the geometrical frustration of the spinel structure, even though the Curie temperature of magnetite is in excess of 800 K. The anisotropy of the magnetic Compton profiles increases through the Verwey temperature Tv and indicates that magnetic electrons in the ground state of magnetite become delocalized on Fe B-sites above Tv.