The ferromagnetic (FM) nature of the metallic LaCo2P2 was investigated with the positive muon spin rotation, relaxation and resonance (μ+SR) technique. Transverse and zero field μ+SR measurements revealed that the compound enters a long range FM ground state at TC=130.91(65)~K, consistent with previous studies. Based on the reported FM structure, the internal magnetic field was computed at the muon sites, which were predicted with first principles calculations. The computed result agree well with the experimental data. Moreover, although LaCo2P2 is a paramagnet at higher temperatures T>160~K, it enters a short range ordered (SRO) magnetic phase for TC<T≤160~K. Measurements below the vicinity of TC revealed that the SRO phase co-exists with the long range FM order at temperatures 124≤T≤TC. Such co-existence is an intrinsic property and stems from competition between the 2D and 3D interactions/fluctuations.
@article{arxiv.2107.02560,
title = {Co-existence of short- and long-range magnetic order in LaCo$_2$P$_2$},
author = {Ola Kenji Forslund and Daniel Andreica and Hiroto Ohta and Masaki Imai and Chishiro Michioka and Kazuyoshi Yoshimura and Martin Månsson and Jun Sugiyama},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2107.02560},
year = {2021}
}