SINQ – Swiss Spallation Neutron Source

Frustrated magnets with ordered magnetic spiral phases that spontaneously break inversion symmetry have received significant attention from both fundamental and applied sciences communities due to the experimental demonstration that some of these materials can couple to the lattice and induce electric polarization. In these materials, the common origin of the electric and magnetic orders guarantees substantial coupling between them, which is highly desirable for applications ...

The recent discovery of superconductivity in infinite layer thin films and bulk Ruddlesden–Popper nickelates has stimulated the investigation of other predicted properties of these materials. Among them, the existence of magnetism-driven ferroelectricity in the parent compounds RNiO₃ (R = 4f lanthanide and Y) at the onset of the Néel order, T_N, has remained particularly elusive. Using diffraction techniques, we reveal here the existence of magnetostriction at T_N in bulk YNiO₃ single crystals. Interestingly, the associated lattice anomalies ...

A hallmark of unconventional superconductors is a complex electronic phase diagram where intertwined orders of charge-spin-lattice degrees of freedom compete and coexist. While the kagome metals such as CsV₃Sb₅ also exhibit complex behavior, involving coexisting charge density wave order and superconductivity, much is unclear about the microscopic origin of the superconducting pairing. We study the vortex lattice in the superconducting state of Cs(V_0.86Ta_0.14)₃Sb₅, where the Ta-doping suppresses charge order and enhances superconductivity. Using small-angle neutron scattering ...