Types of Magnetic Order

Six types of magnetic order are recognised. They are defined on Q STYP cards by the words:

FERO

Ferromagnetic and unmagnetised so all possible domains are equally populated.

FERA

Ferromagnetic and magnetised in the direction of the z diffractometer axis.

ANTI

A simple commensurate antiferromagnetic structure.

AMOD

A possibly incommensurate amplitude modulated structure; this differs from ANTI in that the relative phases of the modulation at the different symmetrically related sub-lattices may need to be defined.

HELI

A possibly incommensurate helical structure. It differs from AMOD because the magnitude and direction of both spin components which define the helical envelope must be defined. They are necessarily perpendicular to one another.

PARA

Paramagnetic magnetised in the direction of the z diffractometer axis (only recognised by CHILSQ.