The magnetic structures of RMgSn compounds (R=Ce, Pr, Nd, Tb)

Abstract The synthesis of the new compounds RMgSn (R = La–Nd, Sm, Gd–Tm, Lu and Y) has been recently reported. The compounds formed by La and Ce crystallise in the TiNiSi structure type ( oP 12, Pnma ), while from Nd they adopt the CeScSi-type ( tI 12, I 4/ mmm ); PrMgSn is dimorphic: its high-temperature form (HT) is TiNiSi-type while the low-temperature one (LT) is CeScSi-type. In this paper we now report the results of a neutron diffraction investigation which has been performed in order to refine the crystal as well as the magnetic structures for the RMgSn compounds with R = Ce, Pr, Nd and Tb. All these compounds see at low temperature the establishment of long range magnetic ordering with a predominantly antiferromagnetic interaction; only PrMgSn-HT orders ferromagnetically. These results agree with those from magnetic measurements recently reported. The magnetic structure of CeMgSn is of the amplitude-modulated type, the value of the magnetic propagation vector refined at 2 K is τ = [0, 0.1886(4), 0.3384(8)]. The PrMgSn-HT phase below T = 52 K adopts first a purely ferromagnetic structure, then at about T = 15 K a second magnetic coupling leads to a spin-canted magnetic structure. Both PrMgSn-LT and NdMgSn have the same antiferromagnetic commensurate magnetic structure. The TbMgSn compound below T N = 35 K orders antiferromagnetically with an equal moment cycloidal structure; however a second magnetic transition at a temperature corresponding to T N 2 = 65 K is likely also present.