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Magnetic lock-in transition and competing interactions in EuAuBi

S. H. Moody1,*, C. Ritter2, H. Takahashi3,4, S. Ishiwata3,4, and J. S. White1,†

  • 1Laboratory for Neutron Scattering and Imaging (LNS), PSI Center for Neutron and Muon Science, Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland
  • 2Institut Laue-Langevin, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
  • 3Division of Materials Physics and Center for Spintronics Research Network (CSRN), Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Osaka 560-8531, Japan
  • 4Spintronics Research Network Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Yamadaoka 2-1, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan

  • *Contact author: samuel.moody@psi.ch
  • †Contact author: jonathan.white@psi.ch
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 014412 – Published 9 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/dp5g-fbpc

Abstract

The zero-field magnetic ground state of the superconducting polar semimetal EuAuBi is determined using neutron powder diffraction. The system realizes a commensurate antiferromagnetic ground state of wave vector k=(1/3,0,0) with moments along the crystallographic b axis and unequal moment amplitudes between the two magnetically inequivalent Eu orbits. On warming above an intermediate transition temperature, TN2≈3.3K, a commensurate-incommensurate transition occurs with k(T)=[1/3−δ(T),0,0], preserving the moment direction and occurring only within a narrow temperature window below the incommensurate-paramagnetic transition at TN1≈4K. A minimal isotropic exchange toy model including interactions up to third-nearest neighbors suggests the presence of competing interactions. Together, these results provide a foundation for future studies of materials hosting an interplay between magnetism, superconductivity, and electric polarity.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 014412– Published 9 July, 2026
  • Received 7 March 2026
  • Accepted 21 May 2026
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