Thermal properties of a spin spiral: Manganese on tungsten(110)

We report a detailed study of the magnetic properties of a monoatomic layer of Mn on W(110). By comparing multiscale numerical calculations with measurements we evaluate the magnetic ground state of the system and its temperature-dependent evolution. We find that the ground state consists of a cycloidal spin spiral (CSS) that persists up to the Neel temperature with a temperature-independent wavelength. However, by continuously increasing the temperature, that CSS becomes thermally depinned. This results in a time-averaged absence of magnetic order, a process that can be viewed as the antiferromagnetic analog of superparamagnetism.