Abstract
We studied the crystal structure and spin state of MnP under high pressure with synchrotron x-ray diffraction and x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). MnP has an exceedingly strong anisotropy in compressibility, with the primary compressible direction along the b axis of the Pnma structure. XES reveals a pressure-driven quenching of the spin state in MnP. First-principles calculations suggest that the strongly anisotropic compression behavior significantly enhances the dispersion of the Mn d-orbitals and the splitting of the d-orbital levels compared to the hypothetical isotropic compression behavior. Thus, we propose spin quenching results mainly from the significant enhancement of the itinerancy of d electrons and partly from spin rearrangement occurring in the split d-orbital levels near the Fermi level. This explains the fast suppression of magnetic ordering in MnP under high pressure. The spin quenching lags behind the occurrence of superconductivity at ∼8 GPa implying that spin fluctuations govern the electron pairing for superconductivity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 023012 |
Journal | New Journal of Physics |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- high pressure
- spin state
- structural distortion
- superconductivity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy