Incommensurate magnetic order in a quasicubic structure of the double-perovskite compound Sr2NiIrO6

In Sr2NiIrO6, a metastable compound, the magnetic structure could be elucidated. The magnetic susceptibility data of the compound suggests a three-dimensional Heisenberg behavior. Moreover, neutron diffraction reveals a novel incommensurate magnetic order, requiring exchange interactions beyond second neighbor to stabilize this phase. An incommensurate propagation vector of k=(0,k,k) with k=0.356 was observed in such a pseudocubic system. This can be an example of how to induce an incommensurate ground state and a possible type-II multiferroicity in double perovskites.