William Knafo, LNCMI-Toulouse, Daniel Braithwaite, CEA-Grenoble, Rikio Settai, University of Niigata

Combined extreme conditions of high pressure and strong magnetic field are an extremely powerful tool to tune microscopic interactions in order to attain and study new states of matter. While high-pressure measurements in static magnetic fields are a state-of-the-art technique up to the maximum available static fields, specific challenges (eddy currents, small accessible space, etc.) need to be overcome for the combination of high pressures with much higher magnetic fields, i.e., pulsed fields. Up to now, no setup allowed routine measurements of this kind at pressures higher than 1.5 GPa.

A French-Japanese collaboration between the LNCMI Toulouse, the CEA Grenoble, and the University of Niigata recently succeeded to develop a pressure cell allowing resistivity measurements in combined pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T, pressures up to at least 4 GPa and temperatures down to 1.5 K. The first study permitted to establish the full three-dimensional (T, H, p) phase diagram of an Ising-type antiferromagnetic system (CeRh2Si2), with a systematic and careful comparison of pressure and magnetic-field-induced quantum phase transitions.

This new tool, unique worldwide, opens many perspectives in a wide range of subjects including the study of itinerant quantum magnets, high-temperature superconductors, and the new and exciting topic of exotic topological states.

Pressure cell on the pulsed field probe.

A sample in the pressure chamber together with a Pb gauge used as a manometer.

Magnetoresistance curves up to 60 T of the antiferromagnetic system CeRh2Si2 at several pressures close to the critical pressure.

Phase diagram of CeRh2Si2 illustrating how the antiferromagnetic order can be suppressed by temperature, pressure, and magnetic field.

Development of Bridgman-Type Pressure Cell for Pulsed High Magnetic Field, R. Settai, W. Knafo, D. Braithwaite, S. Kurahashi, D. Aoki, and J. Flouquet, Review of High Pressure Science and Technology / Koatsuryoku No Kagaku To Gijutsu 25, 325 (2015).
Pressure cell for transport measurements under high pressure and low temperature in pulsed magnetic fields, D. Braithwaite, W. Knafo, R. Settai, D. Aoki, S. Kurahashi, and J. Flouquet, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 87, 023907 (2016).
Three-dimensional critical phase diagram of the Ising antiferromagnet CeRh2Si2 under intense magnetic field and pressure, W. Knafo, R. Settai, D. Braithwaite, S. Kurahashi, D. Aoki, and J. Flouquet, Phys. Rev. B 95, 014411 (2017).