Field-induced tricritical phenomenon and multiple phases in DySb

Abstract

Tricritical phenomenon appearing in multiple phases is a fundamental and attractive issue in condensed-matter physics. Monopnictide DySb, a candidate for potential magnetic topological semimetal with an antiferromagnetic ground state, has been found to possess complex and intriguing field-induced magnetic phase transitions. In this work, critical behaviors of single-crystal DySb are investigated systematically, which generate a series of critical exponents including $\ensuremath{\beta}=0.244(2)$, $\ensuremath{\gamma}=0.827(2)$, and $\ensuremath{\delta}=4.425(1)$ for $H\ensuremath{\parallel}[001]$. The deduced critical exponents verified by Widom law and scaling equations are close to a tricritical mean-field model, suggesting a field-induced tricritical phenomenon in DySb. Based on the universality principle, a detailed $H\text{\ensuremath{-}}T$ phase diagram around the phase transition is constructed for $H\ensuremath{\parallel}[001]$, in which a tricritical point is revealed at temperature and field of (7.5 K, 51.4 kOe) on intersected boundaries of antiferromagnetic, forced ferromagnetic, and paramagnetic phases. Moreover, a triple point is found at the intersection (9.2 K, 19.7 kOe) of paramagnetic and two kinds of antiferromagnetic states. Such a fascinating phase diagram is indicative of delicate competition and balance between multiple magnetic interactions in this system, and lays a solid foundation for future research in topological transition and criticality.