Magnetic structure of CoO

Abstract

The paper reports evidence that the multi-spin-axis magnetic structure proposed in 1964 by van Laar is realized in antiferromagnetic CoO. This tetragonal spin arrangement produces both the strong tetragonal and the weaker monoclinic distortion experimentally observed in this material. The monoclinic distortion is proposed to be a “monoclinic-like” distortion of the array of the oxygen atoms, comparable with the rhombohedral-like distortion of the oxygen atoms recently proposed to be present in NiO and MnO. The monoclinic-like distortion has no influence on the tetragonal magnetic structure, which is generated by a special nonadiabatic atomic-like motion of the electrons near the Fermi level. It is argued that it is this atomic-like motion that qualifies CoO to be a Mott insulator.