Superconductivity-driven helical magnetic structure in EuRbFe4As4 ferromagnetic superconductor

Phys. Rev. B 100, 104523 (2019)

Abstract: Recently the evidence of the helical magnetic structure modulated along the $c$ axis with the period of four lattice parameters was obtained in easy $ab$ plane ferromagnetic superconductor ${\mathrm{EuRbFe}}_4{\mathrm{As}}_4$ [K. Iida et al., Phys. Rev. B 100, 014506 (2019)]. We argue that such structure may appear due to the presence of superconductivity. In spite of the very small value of the exchange field acting on the superconducting electrons in ${\mathrm{EuRbFe}}_4{\mathrm{As}}_4$, the exchange mechanism of interaction between superconductivity and ferromagnetism could dominate over the electromagnetic one and this circumstance could favor the emergence of the short-period magnetic structure (with the period less than the superconducting coherence length). Such a situation differs from one in the similar compound P-doped ${\mathrm{EuFe}}_2{\mathrm{As}}_2$, where the electromagnetic mechanism dominates and results in the magnetic structure with significantly larger period (of the order of London penetration depth). We also analyze the effect of the external magnetic field on the onset temperature of the modulated magnetic structure.