Nonmagnetic Ground State in RuO$_2$ Revealed by Muon Spin Rotation

Abstract: The magnetic ground state of single crystalline RuO$2$ was investigated by the muon spin rotation/relaxation ($\mu$SR) experiment. The spin precession signal due to the spontaneous internal magnetic field $B{\rm loc}$, which is expected in the magnetically ordered phase, was not observed in the temperature range 5--400~K. Muon sites were evaluated by first-principles calculations using dilute hydrogen simulating muon as pseudo-hydrogen, and $B_{\rm loc}$ was simulated for the antiferromagnetic (AFM) structures with a Ru magnetic moment $|{\bf m}{\rm Ru}|\approx0.05\mu\mathrm{B}$ suggested from diffraction experiments. As a result, the possibility was ruled out that muons are localized at sites where $B_{\rm loc}$ accidentally cancels. Conversely, assuming that the slow relaxation observed in $\mu$SR spectra was part of the precession signal, the upper limit for the magnitude of $|{\bf m}{\rm Ru}|$ was estimated to be $4.8(2)\times10^{-4}\mu{\rm B}$, which is significantly less than $0.05\mu_\mathrm{B}$. These results indicate that the AFM order, as reported, is unlikely to exist in the bulk crystal.