Magnetic structure and spin excitations in BaMn 2 Bi 2
We present a single crystal neutron scattering study of BaMn 2 Bi 2 , a recently synthesized material with the same ThCr 2 Si 2 type structure found in several Fe-based unconventional superconducting materials. We show long range magnetic order, in the form of a G-type antiferromagnetic structure, to exist up to 390 K with an indication of a structural transition at 100 K. Utilizing inelastic neutron scattering we observe a spin-gap of 16 meV, with spin-waves extending up to 55 meV. We find these magnetic excitations are well fit to a J 1 -J 2 -J c Heisenberg model and present values for the exchange interactions. The spin wave spectrum appears to be unchanged by the 100 K structural phase transition.