SPIN REORIENTATION EFFECTS IN GdFe₃(BO₃)₄ INDUCED BY APPLIED FIELD AND TEMPERATURE
Kharlamova S.A., Ovchinnikov S.G., Balaev A.D., Thomas M.F., Lyubutin L.S., Gavriliuk A.G.

Received: May 16, 2005

PACS: 76.80.+y, 75.25.+z, 75.30.Gw, 75.50.Ee, 76.60.Jx

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Magnetic properties of GdFe₃(BO₃)₄ single crystals were investigated by the ⁵⁷Fe-Mossbauer spectroscopy and static magnetic measurements. In the ground state, the GdFe₃(BO₃)₄ crystal is an easy-axis compensated antiferromagnet, but the easy axis of iron moments does not coincide with the crystal C₃ axis, deviating from it by about . The spontaneous and field-induced spin reorientation effects were observed and studied in detail. The specific directions of iron magnetic moments were determined for different temperatures and applied fields. Large values of the angle between the Fe³⁺ magnetic moments and the C₃ axis in the easy-axis phase and between Fe³⁺ moments and the a₂ axis in the easy-plane phase reveal the tilted antiferromagnetic structure.