Giant Magnetoelastic Interactions in HoSb Probed by High-Resolution Dilatometry and X-Ray Diffraction

The rare-earth (RE) monopnictides which crystallize in the cubic structure similar to NaCl have drawn considerable interests due to their diverse transport, magnetic and structural properties. The non-magnetic compounds are known for the transition from topological to trivial electronic states (e.g. LaPn where Pn = Bi and As [1]). Magnetism of the compounds with long-range order brings complexity to their topological properties. However, topological nature of these materials undergoes intense debates and investigation. HoSb is a topological semimetal which orders antiferromagnetically below 5.7 K. Application of magnetic field leads to the change of its magnetic structure from MnO-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) arrangement to HoP-type arrangement, then to ferromagnetic (FM) arrangement [2]. There are also reports which suggest transition to tetragonal structure taking place close to T_N [3]. The variety of the low-temperature phenomena makes HoSb a good platform to investigate the role of the magnetic ordering, the strength of spin-phonon coupling and the effect of the metamagnetic transitions on the crystal structure. We will present the results of high-resolution dilatometry as well as X-Ray diffraction studies performed at different magnetic field and temperatures. Together with the theoretical modeling our experimental studies advance the understanding of the interplay between magnetic and structural subsystems in the REPn family of compounds

[1] H. Y. Yang, J. Gaudet, A. A. Aczel, D. E. Graf, P. Blaha, B. D. Gaulin, and F. Tafti, Interplay of Magnetism and Transport in HoBi, Phys. Rev. B 98, 045136 (2018).
[2] M. M. Hosen et al., Observation of Gapped State in Rare-Earth Monopnictide HoSb, Sci. Reports 2020 101 10, 1 (2020).
[3] F. Lévy, Spontaneous, Magnetostrictive Effects in Some Rare Earth Compounds. II. LnX [X= P, As or Sb] Compounds, Phys. Kondons. Mater. 10, 85 (1969).

KG acknowledges the support from the Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science of the U. S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE). VB acknowledges the support from the Idaho National Laboratory's Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program under DOE Idaho Operations Office Contract DE-AC07-05ID14517.