Noncollinear magnetic structure in U_{2}Pd_{2}In at high magnetic fields

Abstract

We report an unexpected magnetic-field-driven magnetic structure in the 5f-electron Shastry-Sutherland system U_{2}Pd_{2}In. This phase develops at low temperatures from a noncollinear antiferromagnetic ground state above the critical field of 25.8 T applied along the a axis. All U moments have a net magnetic moment in the direction of the applied field, described by a ferromagnetic propagation vector q_{F}=(000) and an antiferromagnetic component described by a propagation vector q_{AF}=(0 0.301/2) due to a modulation in the direction perpendicular to the applied field. We conclude that this surprising noncollinear magnetic structure is due to a competition between the single-ion anisotropy trying to keep moments, similar to the ground state, along the [110]-type directions, Dzyaloshinskii-Moryia interaction forcing them to be perpendicular to each other and application of the external magnetic field attempting to align them along the field direction.