Symmetry of Magnetically Ordered Quasicrystals

The notion of magnetic symmetry is reexamined in light of the recent observation of long-range magnetic order in icosahedral quasicrystals [Charrier et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4637 (1997)]. The relation between the symmetry of a magnetically ordered (periodic or quasiperiodic) crystal, given in terms of a “spin space group,” and its neutron diffraction diagram is established. In doing so, an outline of a symmetry classification scheme for magnetically ordered quasiperiodic crystals, is provided. Predictions are given for the expected diffraction patterns of magnetically ordered icosahedral crystals, provided their symmetry is well described by icosahedral spin space groups.