Magnetic and Electronic Inhomogeneity in Sm1−xEuxB6

Abstract

While SmB6 attracts attention as a possible topological Kondo insulator, EuB6 is known to host magnetic polarons that give rise to large magnetoresistive effects above its ferromagnetic order transition. Here, we investigate single crystals of Sm1−xEuxB6 by magnetic and magnetotransport measurements to explore a possible interplay of these two intriguing phenomena, with a focus on the Eu-rich substitutions. Sm0.01Eu0.99B6 exhibits generally similar behavior as EuB6. Interestingly, Sm0.05Eu0.95B6 combines a global antiferromagnetic order with local polaron formation. A pronounced hysteresis is found in the magnetoresistance of Sm0.1Eu0.9B6 at low temperature (T= 1.9 K) and applied magnetic fields between 2.3 and 3.6 T. The latter is in agreement with a phenomenological model that predicts the stabilization of ferromagnetic polarons with an increasing magnetic field within materials with a global antiferromagnetic order.