Multiple magnetic transitions in the trilayer nickelate Pr 4 Ni 3 O 10 revealed by muon-spin rotation

Abstract A muon-spin rotation/relaxation ( μ SR) study of the trilayer Ruddlesden–Popper nickelate Pr 4 Ni 3 O 10 was performed at ambient pressure and under hydrostatic pressure up to 2.2 GPa. Three magnetic transitions were identified at ambient pressure: the onset of spin-density-wave (SDW) order at T SDW ≃ 158 K, an intermediate-temperature transition at T ∗ ≃ 90 –100 K, and a low-temperature transition at T SDW Pr ≃ 25 –27 K. While the intermediate transition at T ∗ induces only minor changes in the internal-field distribution, the transition at T SDW Pr is accompanied by a pronounced reconstruction of the magnetic structure, consistent with previous reports attributing enhanced interlayer coherence to the ordering of the Pr sublattice. The high-temperature transition at T SDW is characterized by the sharp development of static internal magnetic fields with a narrow transition width of 0.65 ( 4 ) K. Weak-transverse-field measurements reveal a finite thermal hysteresis of 0.27 ( 6 ) K, with T