Resonant x-ray scattering from multi-k magnetic structures

Investigations of magnetic structure are central to magnetism and, since the pioneering work by Shull and Smart on MnO, neutron scattering has been the technique of choice. Neutron diffraction methods are sensitive to the Fourier transform of the magnetic structure, which determine the intensity of Bragg peaks in reciprocal space. The magnetic structure is then inferred from the relative intensities recorded at different QBragg vectors of the reciprocal lattice. Magnetic configurations, when hosted in a unit cell of high symmetry, give rise to domains of equivalent vectors. Lacking information on the relative phases of the Bragg peaks, the scattering intensity associated with these domains may confound the possibility to distinguish between two or more different magnetic configurations. In this case, the symmetry of a magnetic structure can only be inferred from the neutron Bragg intensity after applying an external perturbation, such as a magnetic field. on Bragg intensity after applying an external perturbation, such as a magnetic field