Atomic-scale visualization of a cascade of magnetic orders in the layered antiferromagnet GdTe₃

GdTe₃, a layered antiferromagnet, exhibits high mobility, a unidirectional incommensurate charge density wave (CDW), pressure-induced superconductivity, and a cascade of magnetic transitions between 7 and 12 K. Using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM), the authors directly image charge and magnetic orders. Below 7 K, a striped antiferromagnetic phase with double the Gd lattice periodicity is observed, perpendicular to the CDW. Between 7 and 12 K, a spin density wave (SDW) with the same periodicity as the CDW is found, supported by a Landau free energy model. The study reveals the order parameters of the magnetic phases and the interplay between charge and spin in generating a cascade of magnetic orders.

Arjun Raghavan, Marisa Romanelli, Julian May-Mann, Anuva Aishwarya, Leena Aggarwal, Anisha G. Singh, Maja D. Bachmann, Leslie M. Schoop, Eduardo Fradkin, Ian R. Fisher, Vidya Madhavan