Uniaxial-stress-induced magnetic transitions in the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet PdCrO₂

Uniaxial stress is a promising method to tune magnetic frustration, allowing its effects to be studied in a precise way. In this work, uniaxial stress is applied to the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet PdCrO₂. The Cr–Cr magnetic interaction is very sensitive to interatomic separation, so laboratory-achievable stress can induce substantial changes in magnetic structure. Results from three types of measurement are presented: x-ray diffraction, the stress–strain relationship, and neutron diffraction. The combined data show that the elastic moduli of PdCrO₂ are strongly affected by stress-induced changes in magnetic structure. A new, first-order stress-induced magnetic transition is observed, at which the lattice constant shrinks by 0.21%. The lattice stiffens dramatically across this transition: the Young’s modulus increases by ≈80 GPa, and the Poisson ratio falls from ≈1 to ≈0.4. This stiffening indicates that the magnetic order ‘locks,’ that is, becomes insensitive to lattice strain. This locking might occur because the new stress-induced magnetic order nests the Fermi surface of the Pd sheets. Other frustrated magnets, including candidate spin liquids, may show similarly strong coupling between magnetic and elastic degrees of freedom.