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Abstract High pressure is an effective tool to induce exotic quantum phenomena in magnetic topological insulators by controlling the interplay of magnetic order and topological state. This work presents a comprehensive high-pressure study of the crystal structure and magnetic ground state up to 62 GPa in an intrinsic topological magnet EuSn 2 P 2 . With a combination of high resolution X-ray diffraction, 151 Eu synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, molecular orbital calculations, and electronic band structure calculations, it has been revealed that pressure drives EuSn 2 P 2 from a rhombohedral crystal to an amorphous phase at 36 GPa accompanied by a fourfold enhancement of magnetic ordering temperature. In the pressure-induced amorphous phase, Eu ions take an intermediate valence state. The drastic enhancement of magnetic ordering temperature from 30 K at ambient pressure to 130 K at 41.2 GPa resulting from Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida (RKKY) interactions likely attributes to the stronger Eu–Sn interaction at high pressure. These rich results demonstrate that EuSn 2 P 2 is an ideal platform to study the correlation of the enhanced RKKY interactions, disordered lattice, intermediate valence, and topological state.

We demonstrate the synthesis and phase stability of TcN, Tc 2 N, and a substoichiometric TcN x from 0 to 50 GPa and to 2500 K in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. At least potential recoverability is demonstrated for each compound. TcN adopts a previously unpredicted structure identified via crystal structure prediction.

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.