Structure and magnetism of cobalt at high pressure and low temperature

The magnetic and structural properties of cobalt were investigated under high pressure (160 GPa) and low temperature (50 K), by synchrotron K-edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism and x-ray diffraction. A quasihydrostatic equation of state was measured up to 160 GPa. We found that uniaxial stress plays a role in the hexagonal close packed-face centered cubic (hcp-fcc) structural transition pressure. Also, our data provide the first experimental evidence that changes of the c/a ratio pressure derivative are related to the magnetic behavior. The complete extinction of ferromagnetism is observed above 130 GPa in a mixed hcp-fcc phase with no recovery upon cooling to 50 K, indicating that cobalt at 150 GPa is very likely nonmagnetic, i.e., characterized by zero local spin polarization. Density functional theory calculations point out that the K-edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) signal is related to the 4p orbital moment rather than to the total spin moment and allow us to get a deeper insight into the K-edge XMCD measurements interpretation. The combination of novel theoretical results and experimental outputs provides a detailed scenario of the structural and magnetic properties of cobalt at these extreme conditions answering some previously unsolved issues.