Direct Imaging of All-In-All-Out magnetic domains in the pyrochlore iridate compound Ho2Ir2O7

We propose to image antiferromagnetic domains in pyrochlore iridates (RE2Ir2O7, RE = Rare Earth) by scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy, using resonant X-ray scattering as magnetic contrast. At low temperature, both the Ir4+ and RE3+ sublattices host so-called “All-In-All-Out” magnetic orders with antiphase domains. These antiphase domains have been evidenced by various techniques, but their coincidence on both sublattices remains to be studied. Only X-rays, using absorption edges of both sublattices, are able to provide distinct pictures of the domain structures in both sublattices. This missing information is crucial to understand how such domains can be manipulated. Indeed, it has been suggested that magnetic monopoles in the RE sublattice could be used to manipulate the domains of the Ir4+ sublattice. If this first experiment is successful, it could lead to further studies under magnetic field, possibly with the full-field diffraction microscope of the beamline.