Magnetic structure of Gd5Ge4

Gd5Ge4 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma, and orders antiferromagnetically below the Néel temperatureTN∼127 K. We have employed x-ray resonant magnetic scattering to elucidate the details of the magnetic structure. The magnetic unit cell is the same as the chemical unit cell. From azimuth scans and the Q dependence of the magnetic scattering, all three Gd sites in the structure were determined to be in the same magnetic space group Pnm′a. The magnetic moments are primarily aligned along the c axis and the c components of the magnetic moments at the three different sites are equal. The ferromagnetic Gd-rich slabs are stacked antiferromagnetically along the b direction.