%AAntonio, Daniel%AWeiss, Joel%AShanks, Katherine%ARuff, Jacob%AJaime, Marcelo%ASaul, Andres%ASwinburne, Thomas%ASalamon, Myron%AShrestha, Keshav%ALavina, Barbara%AKoury, Daniel%AGruner, Sol%AAndersson, David%AStanek, Christopher%ADurakiewicz, Tomasz%ASmith, James%AIslam, Zahirul%AGofryk, Krzysztof%BJournal Name: Communications Materials; Journal Volume: 2; Journal Issue: 1; Related Information: CHORUS Timestamp: 2022-12-03 15:57:49 %D2021%INature Publishing Group %JJournal Name: Communications Materials; Journal Volume: 2; Journal Issue: 1; Related Information: CHORUS Timestamp: 2022-12-03 15:57:49 %K %MOSTI ID: 10212809 %PMedium: X %TPiezomagnetic switching and complex phase equilibria in uranium dioxide %XAbstract

Actinide materials exhibit strong spin–lattice coupling and electronic correlations, and are predicted to host new emerging ground states. One example is piezomagnetism and magneto-elastic memory effect in the antiferromagnetic Mott-Hubbard insulator uranium dioxide, though its microscopic nature is under debate. Here, we report X-ray diffraction studies of oriented uranium dioxide crystals under strong pulsed magnetic fields. In the antiferromagnetic state a [888] Bragg diffraction peak follows the bulk magnetostriction that expands under magnetic fields. Upon reversal of the field the expansion turns to contraction, before the [888] peak follows the switching effect and piezomagnetic ‘butterfly’ behaviour, characteristic of two structures connected by time reversal symmetry. An unexpected splitting of the [888] peak is observed, indicating the simultaneous presence of time-reversed domains of the 3-k structure and a complex magnetic-field-induced evolution of the microstructure. These findings open the door for a microscopic understanding of the piezomagnetism and magnetic coupling across strong magneto-elastic interactions.

%0Journal Article