NMR Evidence for Spontaneous Electronic Chiral Order in URhSn
Abstract
URhSn exhibits successive phase transitions at T_{O}=54 K and T_{C}=16 K. While the transition at T_{C} is known to be ferromagnetic, the nature of the intermediate phase between T_{O} and T_{C} has remained elusive. Here, we report ^{117}Sn nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements on high-quality single crystals of URhSn, which reveal NMR line splittings indicative of symmetry breaking in the intermediate phase. The field-direction and site dependences of these splittings are consistent with antiferroquadrupolar ordering characterized by the space group P321 (No. 150). This finding confirms the emergence of a novel form of chiral order driven by electronic degrees of freedom, without an underlying chiral crystal structure in URhSn.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Rare-earth and actinide compounds
Topological Materials and Phenomena
Nuclear Materials and Properties
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Physical Review Letters
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Volume
- 137
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 046501–046501
- Publication date
- 19 May 2026
- Language
- EN