Kenneth Hughes

Abstract:

Resonant elastic X-ray scattering (REXS) at the Eu M5 edge reveals an antiferromagnetic structure in layered EuCd2Sb2 at temperatures below TN = 7.4 K with a magnetic propagation vector of (0, 0, 1/2) and spins in the basal plane. Magneto-transport and REXS measurements with an in-plane magnetic field show that features in the magnetoresistance are correlated with changes in the magnetic structure induced by the field. Ab initio electronic structure calculations predict that the observed spin structure gives rise to a gapped Dirac point close to the Fermi level with a gap of ∆E ∼ 0.01 eV. The results of this study indicate that the Eu spins are coupled to conduction electron states near the Dirac point.