Manganese silicide (MnSi), a model helimagnetic compound, crystallizes in a B20 structure, whose non-centrosymmetric space group P2₁3 allows a helical (chiral) magnetic structure. The magnetic phase transition temperature of MnSi (29 K at atmospheric pressure) decreases with pressure and approaches zero at about 1.4 GPa. This fact, pointing to possible quantum critical phenomena, has prompted high-pressure studies of MnSi that have revealed a number of fascinating phenomena, in particular, the non-Fermi-liquid behavior of electrical resistivity and the unusual spin state (partial ordering) in the paramagnetic phase. We discuss experimental results characterizing the physical properties and the phase diagram of MnSi and at the same time forming the basis of current ideas in the physics of strongly correlated chiral electron systems.

PACS: 62.50.−p, 75.30.Kz, 75.40.Cx, 77.80.B− (all) DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.0181.201111b.1157 URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/2011/11/b/ 000300172000002 2-s2.0-84857338664 2011PhyU...54.1117S Citation: Stishov S M, Petrova A E "Itinerant helimagnet MnSi" Phys. Usp. 54 1117–1130 (2011) BibTexBibNote ® (generic)BibNote ® (RIS)MedlineRefWorks Received: 28th, February 2011, revised: 6th, April 2011, accepted: 12th, April 2011 Оригинал: Стишов С М, Петрова А Е «Геликоидальный зонный магнетик MnSi» УФН 181 1157–1170 (2011); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.0181.201111b.1157