Kagome lattice candidate URhSn: Measured Bragg diffraction patterns and theory for hexagonal and trigonal Sohncke phases

Abstract

Ternary intermetallics use a ZrNiAl-type chemical structure known as a kagome system. Complexity observed in the phase diagrams of these compounds is attributed to the geometric frustration. The 5f-electron compound URhSn exhibits two phase transitions at 16 K and 54 K. No super-lattice reflections in neutron powder diffraction patterns are detected in the intermediate range of temperatures (16 K - 54 K). Recent resonant x-ray diffraction patterns for uranium ions in the intermediate phase suggest a chiral structure and a trigonal Sohncke space group. It is firmly established that a simple hexagonal space group describes the parent structure at room temperature. A ferroic order parameter that includes hexadecapoles is shown to characterize the trigonal Sohncke phase. Resonant x-ray diffraction by this phase is fully investigated with our symmetry informed theory. It repairs symmetry in the original data analysis by using a grey group, and it lifts an unjustified spatial condition on uranium positions. The theory uses axial atomic multipoles that satisfy sum-rules established in the first instance for x-ray dichroic signals. A confrontation between observed and calculated diffraction patterns lends support to a trigonal Sohncke phase, and exposes grounds for additional experimental work on an enigmatic compound.