Phase-field crystal for an antiferromagnet with elastic interactions.

Abstract

We introduce a model which contains the essential elements to formulate and study antiferromagnetism, using the phase-field crystal framework. We focus on the question of how magneto-elastic coupling could lift the frustration in the two-dimensional hexagonal antiferromagnetic phase. Using simulations we observe a rich variety of different phases stable in this model. To characterize different phases we calculate the chiral order parameter and identify the scaling behavior of this order parameter. Furthermore, we observe that vortices appear and are stable close to the nonmagnetic defects. Finally, we studied the ferrimagnetic and spin-flop phase transition in the presence of an external magnetic field.