X-ray free-electron laser observation of giant and anisotropic magnetostriction in $β$-O$_{2}$ at 110 Tesla
Akihiko Ikeda, Yuya Kubota, Yuto Ishii, Xuguang Zhou, Shiyue Peng, Hiroaki Hayashi, Yasuhiro H. Matsuda, Kosuke Noda, Tomoya Tanaka, Kotomi Shimbori, Kenta Seki, Hideaki Kobayashi, Dilip Bhoi, Masaki Gen, Kamini Gautam, Mitsuru Akaki, Shiro Kawachi, Shusuke Kasamatsu, Toshihiro Nomura, Yuichi Inubushi, Makina Yabashi
公開日: 2025/4/14
Abstract
In strong magnetic fields beyond 100 T, the significant Zeeman energy competes with the lattice interactions, where a considerable magnetostriction is expected. However, the microscopic observation of the magnetostriction above 100 T has been hindered due to the short pulse duration of $\mu$-seconds and the coil's destruction. Here, we report the observation of the giant and anisotropic magnetostriction of $\sim 1$ % at 110 T in the spin-controlled crystal, $\beta$-O$_{2}$, by combining the single-shot diffraction of x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) and the newly developed portable 100 T generator (PINK-02). The very soft and anisotropic response of $\beta$-O$_{2}$ should originate in the competing van der Waals force and exchange interaction, and also the frustration of spin and lattice on the triangular network. The XFEL experiment above 100 T using PINK-02 enables microscopic investigations on materials' properties at high magnetic fields, providing insights into how spins contribute to the stability of crystal structures.