Pressure dependence of the magnetic ground states in MnP

MnP, a superconductor under pressure, exhibits a ferromagnetic order below TC∼290 K followed by a helical order with the spins lying in the ab plane and the helical rotation propagating along the c axis below Ts∼50 K at ambient pressure. We performed single-crystal neutron diffraction experiments to determine the magnetic ground states under pressure. Both TC and Ts are gradually suppressed with increasing pressure and the helical order disappears at ∼1.2 GPa. At intermediate pressures of 1.8 and 2.0 GPa, the ferromagnetic order first develops and changes to a conical or two-phase (ferromagnetic and helical) structure with the propagation along the b axis below a characteristic temperature. At 3.8 GPa, a helical magnetic order appears below 208 K, which hosts the spins in the ac plane and the propagation along the b axis. The period of this b axis modulation is shorter than that at 1.8 GPa. Our results indicate that the magnetic phase in the vicinity of the superconducting phase may have a helical magnetic correlation along the b axis.