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Abstract:
We report on the spin structure of the pyrochlore iridate Nd2Ir2O7 that could be directly determined by means of powder neutron diffraction. Our magnetic structure refinement unravels a so-called all-in/all-out magnetic structure that appears in both the Nd and the Ir sublattice. The ordered magnetic moments at 1.8 K amount to 0.34(1) mu(B)/Ir4+ and 1.27(1) mu(B)/Nd3+. The Nd3+ moment size at 1.8 K is smaller than that expected for the Nd3+ ground state doublet. On the other hand, the size of the ordered moments of the Ir4+ ions at 1.8 K agrees very well with the value expected for a J(eff) = 1/2 state based on the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling in this system. Finally, our measurements reveal a parallel alignment of the Nd3+ moments with the net moment of its six nearest neighboring Ir4+ ions.
