Pressure-induced magnetic phase and structural transition in SmSb 2

Motivated by the recent discovery of unconventional superconductivity around a magnetic quantum critical point in pressurized CeSb 2 , here we present a high-pressure study of an isostructural antiferromagnetic (AFM) SmSb 2 through electrical transport and synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements. At P C ∼ 2.5 GPa, we found a pressure-induced magnetic phase transition accompanied by a Cmca → P 4/ nmm structural phase transition. In the pristine AFM phase below P C , the AFM transition temperature of SmSb 2 is insensitive to pressure; in the emergent magnetic phase above P C , however, the magnetic critical temperature increases rapidly with increasing pressure. In addition, at ambient pressure, the magnetoresistivity (MR) of SmSb 2 increases suddenly upon cooling below the AFM transition temperature and presents linear nonsaturating behavior under high field at 2 K. With increasing pressure above P C , the MR behavior remains similar to that observed at ambient pressure, both in terms of temperature- and field-dependent MR. This leads us to argue an AFM-like state for SmSb 2 above P C . Within the investigated pressure of up to 45.3 GPa and the temperature of down to 1.8 K, we found no signature of superconductivity in SmSb 2 .