Using resonant soft x-ray scattering as a function of both temperature and magnetic field, we reveal a large number of almost degenerate magnetic orders in SrCo6O11. The Ising-like spins in this frustrated material in fact exhibit a so-called magnetic devil's staircase. It is demonstrated how a magnetic field induces transitions between different microscopic spin configurations, which is responsible for the magnetoresistance of SrCo6O11. This material therefore constitutes a unique combination of a magnetic devil's staircase and spin valve effects, yielding a novel type of magnetoresistance system.
@article{arxiv.1412.7945,
title = {Observation of Devil's Staircase in the Novel Spin Valve System SrCo$_6$O$_{11}$},
author = {T. Matsuda and S. Partzsch and T. Tsuyama and E. Schierle and E. Weschke and J. Geck and T. Saito and S. Ishiwata and Y. Tokura and H. Wadati},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1412.7945},
year = {2015}
}