The cooperative Ru(4d)-Ho(4f) magnetic orderings and phase coexistence in the 6H-perovskite Ba3HoRu2O9

We report cooperative magnetic orderings in a 6H-perovskite multiferroic system, Ba3HoRu2O9, via comprehensive neutron powder diffraction measurements. This system undergoes long-range antiferromagnetic ordering at TN1 ~ 50 K with a propagation wave vector of K1 = (0.5 0 0), a transition temperature much higher than the previously reported one at ~10 K (TN2). Both Ru and Ho-moments order simultaneously below TN1, followed by spin-reorientations at lower temperatures, demonstrating strong Ru(4d)-Ho(4f) magnetic correlation. Below TN1 another magnetic phase with a propagation wave vector K2 = (0.25 0.25 0) emerges and coexists with the one associated with K1, which is rarely observed and suggests complex magnetism due to phase competition in the magnetic ground state.