Magnetic Order in Honeycomb Layered U_2Pt_6Ga_15 Studied by Resonant X-ray and Neutron Scatterings

Antiferromagnetic (AF) order of U_2Pt_6Ga_15 with the ordering temperature T_ N = 26 K was investigated by resonant X-ray scattering and neutron diffraction on single crystals. This compound possesses a unique crystal structure in which uranium ions form honeycomb layers and then stacks along the c-axis with slight offset, which gives rise to a stacking disorder. The AF order can be described with the propagation vector of q = (1/6, 1/6, 0) in the hexagonal notation. The ordered magnetic moments orient perpendicular to the honeycomb layers, indicating a collinear spin structure consistent with Ising-like anisotropy. The magnetic reflections are found to be broadened along c^* indicating that the stacking disorder results in anisotropic correlation lengths. The semi-quantitative analysis of neutron diffraction intensity, combined with group theory considerations based on the crystallographic symmetry, suggests a zig-zag type magnetic structure for the AF ground state, in which the AF coupling runs perpendicular to the stacking offset, characterized as q = (1, 0, 0)_ orth. The realization of the zig-zag magnetic structure implies the presence of frustrating intralayer exchange interactions involving both ferromagnetic (FM) first-neighbor and AF second and third-neighbor interactions in this compound.