Magnetism of pure and electron-doped BaVS3 as seen from mSR

We report zero-field mSR experiments on two Ba1xLaxVS3 samples (x ¼ 0 and 0:1). Muon spin rotation confirmed a magnetic ground state in both compounds, but also revealed for the stoichiometric material an ordering temperature much lower than any previously reported one. Along with the observed stabilization of magnetism in the electron-doped compound, this suggests that magnetism in the nominally undoped BaVS3 is essentially an extrinsic property, possibly related to slight deviations from the stoichiometry, and that the perfectly pure material is non-magnetic.