Noncollinear spin-density-wave antiferromagnetism in FeAs

The nature of the magnetism in the simplest iron arsenide is of fundamental importance in understanding the interplay between localized and itinerant magnetism and superconductivity. We present the magnetic structure of the itinerant monoarsenide FeAs with the B31 structure. Powder neutron diffraction confirms incommensurate modulated magnetism with wave vector q=(0.395±0.001)c* at 4 K, but can not distinguish between a simple spiral and a collinear spin-density-wave structure. Polarized single-crystal diffraction confirms that the structure is best described as a noncollinear spin-density wave arising from a combination of itinerant and localized behavior with spin amplitude along the b-axis direction being (15±5)% larger than in the a direction. Furthermore, the propagation vector is temperature dependent, and the magnetization near the critical point indicates a two-dimensional Heisenberg system. The magnetic structures of closely related systems are discussed and compared to that of FeAs. © 2011 American Physical Society.