{
  "abstract": "Magnetic behavior across Fe$_2$O$_3$ polymorphs varies widely despite identical chemistry, highlighting crystal architecture as a key determinant of exchange topology, magnetic anisotropy, and ultimately magnetic order. Here, using neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we establish the magnetic ground state of the poorly understood bixbyite $β$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ polymorph and uncover the structural origin of its strong frustration. Below the Néel temperature, a noncollinear antiferromagnetic state emerges through activation of the $mH_1^{+}$ irrep at the H-point [$\\mathbf{k}=(1,1,1)$] and the antitranslation $(1'|\\tfrac{1}{2},\\tfrac{1}{2},\\tfrac{1}{2})$, breaking the body centering and yielding two interpenetrating primitive cubic magnetic subcells with inverted moments and nonpolar type-IV symmetry. Under exclusively antiferromagnetic Fe$^{3+}$-O-Fe$^{3+}$ interactions, $β$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ exhibits a large frustration index ($f \\approx 7.56$). This behavior originates from the intrinsic geometry of the bixbyite lattice: two magnetic sublattices with distinct point symmetries and anisotropy constraints are embedded in a three-dimensional exchange network containing interconnected triangular and hexagonal motifs. In $\\{111\\}$ planes, Fe2 ions form hexagonal rings interconnected by frustrated triangular units, while locally Ising-like Fe1 ions occupy the ring centers. Our results thus identify the bixbyite architecture as a promising general platform for frustrated noncollinear magnetism. Extending this structural framework to other magnetic transition-metal or 4$f$ ions opens a materials space for engineering competing exchange interactions and anisotropies, potentially stabilizing new noncollinear and field-tunable magnetic states.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2606.17842",
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Chenjun Tang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ondřej Malina"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jiři Tuček"
    },
    {
      "name": "Francois Fauth"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marti Gich"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jose Luis Garcia-Muñoz"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/298ptxygbk372.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.17842",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "298ptxygbk372",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.17842",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.str-el"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3104|Advanced Condensed Matter Physics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7165032586",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.17842",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-28",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/298ptxygbk372.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
      "native_id": "2606.17842",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.17842"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mtrl-sci",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The bixbyite framework as a platform for frustrated noncollinear magnetism: resolving the magnetic ground state of $β$-Fe$_2$O$_3$",
  "title_text": "The bixbyite framework as a platform for frustrated noncollinear magnetism: resolving the magnetic ground state of β-Fe_2O_3",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/298ptxygbk372",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}