Investigation of the modulated magnetic phase of superconducting HoMo6S8

Small-angle neutron scattering has been used to study the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the magnetic scattering in the superconducting phase of Ho${\mathrm{Mo}}_6$ ${\mathrm{S}}_8$. Just above the transition $T_m=0.732\mathrm{}$ K to the modulated phase, precursor scattering which peaks at $Q_0\left(0.030\mathrm{} {\AA }^{-1\mathrm{}}\right)$ has been observed. This peak is suppressed by modest (∼20-Oe) fields, whereas below $T_m$ the intensity of the Bragg peak at $Q_0$ is initially enhanced, achieving a maximum at $H\sim 200$ Oe.