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Destabilization of hidden order in URu2Si2 under magnetic field and pressure

Nature Physics volume 16, pages 942–948 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

The mystery of the hidden-order phase in the correlated electron paramagnet URu2Si2 is still unsolved. To address this problem, one strategy is to search for clues in the subtle competition between this state and neighbouring magnetically ordered states. It is now well established that long-range antiferromagnetic order can be stabilized in this metal when it is under pressure and that a spin-density wave manifests when a magnetic field is applied along the easy magnetic axis c. However, the full boundaries of the hidden-order phase in the pressure–magnetic-field plane have not been determined so far. Here we present a systematic investigation of URu2Si2 under combined high pressures and intense magnetic fields. The boundaries of the hidden-order, antiferromagnetic and spin-density-wave phases are mapped out, indicating an intricate three-dimensional phase diagram. We show that the field-induced spin-density-wave and hidden-order phases disappear in favour of antiferromagnetism at high pressure. Interestingly, a large number of phase boundaries are controlled by the field and pressure dependences of a single parameter. This gives new constraints for theories that model the electronic correlations and ordered phases in URu2Si2.

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Fig. 1: Electronic phase diagram under pressure and magnetic field.
Fig. 2: Low-temperature resistivity and its derivative versus magnetic field under pressure.
Fig. 3: Resistivity versus magnetic field at different temperatures and pressures.
Fig. 4: Magnetic-field–temperature phase diagrams under pressure.
Fig. 5: Field and pressure variations of normalized quantities.
Fig. 6: Field and pressure variations of characteristic ratios.

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Source data are available for this paper. The other data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge J. Flouquet for discussions and critical reading of the paper, and S. Burdin for discussions. The work at the LNCMI was supported by the Programme Investissements d’ Avenir under project NEXTREME/NEXT (programme ANR-11-IDEX-0002-02, reference ANR-10-LABX-0037-NEXT). We acknowledge the programmes Propulse, Program for Advancing Strategic International Networks to Accelerate the Circulation of Talented Researchers from JSPS (R2705) and KAKENHI (JP15H05882, JP15H05884, JP15K21732, JP19H00646, JP15H05745).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Intenses, UPR 3228, CNRS-UJF-UPS-INSA, Toulouse, France

    W. Knafo

  2. Department of Physics, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

    S. Araki

  3. Université Grenoble Alpes, CEA, IRIG, PHELIQS, Grenoble, France

    G. Lapertot, D. Aoki, G. Knebel & D. Braithwaite

  4. Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Ibaraki, Japan

    D. Aoki

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Contributions

Samples were grown by D.A. and G.L. They were characterized in zero and low fields by D.A., G.L. and G.K. Zero-field high-pressure experiments were performed by S.A. High-pressure experiments in pulsed magnetic field were performed by W.K., S.A. and D.B. Data were analysed by W.K. The paper was written by W.K. and D.B., with contributions and comments from all of the authors.

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Correspondence to W. Knafo.

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Peer review information Nature Physics thanks Sébastien Burdin, Neil Harrison and Liling Sun for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–8, discussion and refs. 55–57.

Source data

Source Data Fig. 1

(H,p,T) phase diagram data.

Source Data Fig. 2

ρ versus H data, T = 2.2 K, six pressures.

Source Data Fig. 3

ρ versus H data, various temperatures, six panels, one for each pressure.

Source Data Fig. 4

(H,T) phase diagram data, six panels, one for each pressure.

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Knafo, W., Araki, S., Lapertot, G. et al. Destabilization of hidden order in URu2Si2 under magnetic field and pressure. Nat. Phys. 16, 942–948 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-020-0927-4

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