Field-Induced Commensurate-Incommensurate Phase Transition in a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Spiral Antiferromagnet

Abstract

We report an observation of a commensurate-incommensurate phase transition in a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya spiral magnet ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}{\mathrm{CuGe}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$. The transition is induced by applying a magnetic field in the plane of spin rotation. In this experiment we have direct control over the strength of the commensurate potential, while the preferred incommensurate period of the spin system remains unchanged. Experimental results for the period of the soliton lattice and bulk magnetization as a function of external magnetic field are in quantitative agreement with theory.