Fig. 1

Magnetoelastic coupling in Sr₃NiIrO₆. a Absorption of polycrystalline Sr₃NiIrO₆ at 0 and 30 T at 4.2 K. The high-field spectrum is offset for clarity. Top portion displays the 30 T field-induced absorption difference. Vertical gray bands highlight changes. b Hysteresis loop of polycrystalline Sr₃NiIrO₆ at 4.0 K. The indicated critical fields for spin rearrangements are not as high as single crystal measurements due to an averaged response of different orientations. c Magnetization, square of the magnetization, and integrated absorption differences for the three features of interest versus magnetic field. Values are normalized at full field for comparison, and a representative error bar (standard deviation) is shown. The inset is a close-up view of the same data. d, f, h Close-up views of the absorption difference spectra in the regions of interest and their development with magnetic field. Curves are offset for clarity. e, g, i Calculated phonon displacement patterns for these field-sensitive modes. j First-principles simulation of spin–lattice coupling-induced canting of the Ni and Ir spin moments with respect to the c axis as a function of ionic displacement chosen to mimic the 310 and 177 cm⁻¹ mode patterns. The magnitude of the displacement is given for a total of 22 atoms in the unit cell (which has two formula units)