Polarized neutron investigation in the mixed-valence compound Sm3Te4

Abstract Cubic Sm 3 Te 4 can be characterized as a semiconducting, inhomogeneous mixed-valence system. No evidence of charge ordering is found at low temperature, indicating that Sm 2+ and Sm 3+ ions are randomly distributed on one crystallographic position. The magnetization density of a Sm 3 Te 4 single crystal was measured at 1.5 K using polarized neutrons, with a magnetic field applied along [1 1 0] . As the Sm 3 Te 4 structure is not centric, the measured flipping ratios have been directly processed by the maximum entropy method and by a least-squares refinement. The two approaches are in agreement: under the action of the magnetic field, the Sm site splits into two subsites, with very different induced magnetization densities. Two possible explanations are proposed.