Mapping electronic ordering in chromium in 3D with x-ray microdiffraction*

In the antiferromagnetic state of chromium, electrons form spin-density waves and charge-density waves with wave vector along one of the lattice cubic axes; the spontaneous ordering of the electrons breaks the lattice symmetry and creates domains within a single crystal. We report the first 3-dimentional mapping of charge-density wave domains in bulk polycrystalline chromium samples using differential-aperture x-ray microdiffraction at the Advanced Photon Source.