Sigma-phase Fe0.525Cr0.455Ni0.020 alloy was studied by means of Mössbauer spectrometry in the temperature range of 5-293 K. The average center shift, <CS>, determined from the recorded Mössbauer spectra was shown to significantly deviate from the Debye model in the temperature range below ca. 50 K i.e. in the magnetic state of the sample. The deviation is obviously due to the effect of magnetism on the lattice dynamics of the studied sample. Analysis of the <CS>-data in the paramagnetic phase in terms of the Debye model yielded the value of 437(7) K for the Debye temperature.
Non-linear ac magnetic susceptibility terms viz. quadratic, chi2, and cubic, chi3, were measured versus temperature and frequency for a series of the sigma-phase Fe(100-x)Mo(x) (47<x<53) compounds. Clear evidence was found that the ground magnetic state of the samples is mixed i.e. constituted by two phases: a spin glass (SG) and a ferromagnet (FM), hence the magnetism of the investigated samples can be regarded as re-entrant (RSG). Based on the present data, previously reported magnetic phase diagram has been upgraded [J. Przewoznik, S. M. Dubiel,J. Alloy. Comp., 630 (2015) 222].
A series of four sigma-Fe(100-x)Mo(x) samples was investigated with ac magnetic susceptibility measurements. An evidence was found that the ground magnetic state of the samples is constituted by a spin glass (SG) with the spin glass temperature ranging between ca. 34K for x=47 and ca. 16K for x=53. The SG state is heterogeneous and it can be divided into a weak-irreversibility and a strong-irreversibility domains. Its figures of merit are typical of metallic (canonical) spin glasses.
A low-temperature magnetism was revealed in a series of sigma-Fe(100-x)Mo(x) alloys (x=45-53). Its characterization has been done using vibrating sample magnetometry, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and ac magnetic susceptibility. The magnetic ordering temperature was determined to lie in the range of 46 K for x=45 and 22K for x=53, and the ground magnetic state was found to be typical of a spin-glass.
Based on the available literature reviewed are results pertinent to the effect of magnetism on lattice dynamics obtained by Mössbauer spectroscopy at 57Fe and 119Sn probe atoms. Presented and discussed are sigma-phase Fe-Cr, Fe-V, Fe-Cr-Ni and lambda-phase (C14 Laves) NbFe2 compounds that belong to the Frank-Kasper family of phases, metallic chromium and iron mono-arsenide, FeAs. The common feature of all these metallic systems is itinerant character of their magnetism. Two spectral parameters relevant to the lattice dynamics viz. the center shift, CS, and/or the recoil-free fraction, f, are c…
Magnetic Compton scattering, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy and bulk magnetometry measurements are performed on a set of medium (NiFeCo and NiFeCoCr) and high (NiFeCoCrPd and NiFeCoCrMn) entropy Cantor-Wu alloys. The bulk spin momentum densities determined by magnetic Compton scattering are remarkably isotropic, and this is a consequence of the smearing of the electronic structure by disorder scattering of the electron quasiparticles. Non-zero x-ray magnetic circular dichroism signals are observed for every element in every alloy indicating differences in the populations of the…
The Pr-rich end of the alloy series Pr$_{1-x}$Nd$_x$Os$_4$Sb$_{12}$ has been studied using muon spin rotation and relaxation. The end compound PrOs$_4$Sb$_{12}$ is an unconventional heavy-fermion superconductor, which exhibits a spontaneous magnetic field in the superconducting phase associated with broken time-reversal symmetry. No spontaneous field is observed in the Nd-doped alloys for x $>$ 0.05. The superfluid density is insensitive to Nd concentration, and no Nd$^{3+}$ static magnetism is found down to the lowest temperatures of measurement. Together with the slow suppression of the supe…
The generalized gradient approximation (GGA) scheme in the first-principles calculations are used to study the effect of L21 and XA ordering on the phase stability, half-metallicity and magnetism of Co2FeAl (CFA) Heusler alloy. Various possible hypothetical structures: L21-I, L21-II, XA-I, and XA-II were prepared under the conventional L21 and inverse XA phases by altering the atomic occupancies at their Wyckoff sites. It is found that the XA-II phase of CFA is the most stable phase energetically among all the structures. The electronic structure calculations without U show the presence of hal…
Magnetic properties of a sigma-phase Fe60V40 intermetallic compound were studied by means of ac and dc magnetic susceptibility and magnetocaloric effect measurements. The compound is a soft magnet yet it was found to behave like a re-entrant spin-glass system. The magnetic ordering temperature was found to be T_C ca.170 K, while the spin-freezing temperature was ca.164 K. Its relative shift per decade of ac frequency was 0.002, a value smaller than that typical of canonical spin-glasses. Magnetic entropy change, DeltaS, in the vicinity of T_C was determined for magnetic field, H, ranging betwe…
The influence of correlation effects on the orbital moments for transition metals and their alloys is studied by first-principle relativistic Density Functional Theory in combination with the Dynamical Mean-Field Theory. In contrast to the previous studies based on the orbital polarization corrections we obtain an improved description of the orbital moments for wide range of studied systems as bulk Fe, Co and Ni, Fe-Co disordered alloys and 3$d$ impurities in Au. The proposed scheme can give simultaneously a correct dynamical description of the spectral function as well as static magnetic prop…
We report results of a muon spin rotation and relaxation ($μ$SR) study of dilute Pd$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$ alloys, with emphasis on Ni concentrations $x =$ 0.0243 and 0.025. These are close to the critical value $x_\mathrm{cr}$ for the onset of ferromagnetic long-range order (LRO), which is a candidate for a quantum critical point. The 2.43 and 2.5 at.% Ni alloys exhibit similar $μ$SR properties. Both samples are fully magnetic, with average muon local fields $\langle B^\mathrm{loc}\rangle =$ 2.0 and 3.8 mT and Curie temperatures $T_C =$ 1.0 and 2.03 K for 2.43 and 2.5 at.% Ni, respectively, at $T = 0$…
Sigma-phase intermetallic compound of Fe54Cr46 was investigated using DC and AC magnetic susceptibility techniques. A clear-cut evidence was found that the sample orders magnetically at Tc=23.5 K and its ground magnetic state is constituted by a spin glass. The temperature at which the zero-field cooled magnetization has its maximum decreases with an external magnetic field in line with the Gabay-Toulouse prediction. The temperature at which the AC magnetic susceptibility has its maximum does not depend on frequency which, in the light of the mean-field theory, testifies to very long magnetic …
We present a detailed experimental study of bulk and powder samples of the Heusler shape memory alloy Ni$_2$MnGa, including zero-field static and dynamic $^{55}$Mn NMR experiments, X-ray powder diffraction and magnetization experiments. The NMR spectra give direct access to the sequence of structural phase transitions in this compound, from the high-T austenitic phase down to the low-T martensitic phase. In addition, a detailed investigation of the so-called rf-enhancement factor provides local information for the magnetic stiffness and restoring fields for each separate coordination, structur…
Temperature dependent extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra were measured for a 3.3 at% Ga stabilized Pu alloy over the range T= 20 - 300 K at both the Ga K-edge and the Pu L_III-edge. The temperature dependence of the pair-distance distribution widths, σ(T) was accurately modeled using a correlated-Debye model for the lattice vibrational properties, suggesting Debye-like behavior in this material. We obtain pair- specific correlated-Debye temperatures, Θ_cD, of 110.7 +/- 1.7 K and 202.6 +/- 3.7 K, for the Pu-Pu and Ga-Pu pairs, respectively. These results represent the firs…
We report on a study on a representative set of Fe$_{2}$P-based MnFePSi samples by means of $^{55}$Mn NMR in both zero and applied magnetic field. The first-order nature of the magnetic transition is demonstrated by truncated order parameter curves with a large value of the local ordered moment at the Curie point, even at compositions where the transition appears second order from magnetic measurements. No weak ferromagnetic order could be detected at Si-poor compositions showing the kinetic arrest phenomenon, but rather the phase separation of fully ferromagnetic domains from volume fractions…
Despite intense research in the field of strongly correlated electron behavior for the past few decades, there has been very little effort to understand this phenomenon in nano particles of the Kondo lattices. In this article, we review the results of our investigation on the fine particles (less than 1 micron) of some of the alloys obtained by high-energy ball-milling to bring out that this synthetic method paves a way to study strong electron correlations in nanocrystals of such alloys. We primarily focus on the alloys of the series, CeRu(2-x)Rh(x)Si2, lying at different positions in Doniach…
A detailed $^{31}$P (I=1/2) and $^{75}$As (I=3/2) NMR study on polycrystalline CeFeAs$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$O alloys is presented. The magnetism of CeFeAsO changes drastically upon P substitution on the As site. CeFePO is a heavy fermion system without long range order whereas CeFeAsO exhibits a Fe-3$d$ SDW type of ordering accompanied by a structural transition from tetragonal ($TT$) to orthorhombic ($OT$) structure. Furthermore Ce-4$f^{1}$ orders antiferromagnetically (AFM) at low temperature. At the critical concentration where the Fe-magnetism is diminished the Ce-Ce interaction changes to a ferro…
The discovery of new high-temperature superconductors is one of the most critical problems in materials, chemistry, and physics. This work systematically investigates fluorite-like structures of XBeH8 (X is Ac, Th, Pa, U, and Np) to gain physical insight into the pressure effects on the properties. Our results reveal that AcBeH8 and ThBeH8 are two potential high-temperature superconductors, where AcBeH8 reaching a superconducting transition temperature of 284.11 K at 150 GPa and even a value of 203.29 K at 50 GPa, ThBeH8 has Tc is 217.65 K at 200 GPa, and the predicted results provide strong c…
Single-crystal sample of chromium doped with ca.0.2 at.%119Sn was studied by means of a transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy in the temperature range of 310-315 K. An anomaly in the temperature behavior of the center shift was found at ca. 313 K, a temperature that coincides well with the Néel temperature of chromium. The anomaly gives evidence that the vibrations of atoms in the studied system are affected by the magnetism.
Magnetism in Ni-Mn-Z (Z = Ga,In,Sn,Sb) Heusler alloys has so far been predominantly attributed to Rudermann-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida type interactions between Mn atoms. We investigate magnetic interactions in one such alloy, Ni$_{2}$Mn$_{1.4}$In$_{0.6}$ and attempt to explain the origin of antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions that coexist with ferromagnetic ones. Through the combination of x-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), we find that Ni plays an important role along with Mn in the overall magnetism. A significant hybridization that develops between Mn a…
A sigma-phase Fe65.9V34.1 alloy was investigated with the AC magnetic susceptibility as a function of temperature, frequency and external magnetic field. An evidence was found that its magnetism shows features characteristic of a reentrant behavior viz. two transitions: first at TC ca.312K from the paramagnetic state into the collinear ferromagnetic one, and second at Tf ca.302K to a mixed state (sometimes termed as a ferromagnetic re-entrant spin glass) which, finally, at a lower temperature (TRSG ca.60K) transforms to a state where replica symmetry is broken. The frequency dependence of Tf i…
The behaviour of electrical resistivity ($ρ$) and magnetoresistance in the vicinity of respective magnetic ordering temperatures in a number of Gd alloys is reported. In some compounds, e.g., GdNi_2Sn_2 and GdPt_2Ge_2, there is an enhancement of $ρ$ prior to long range magnetic order over a wide temperature range which can be highlighted by the suppression of $ρ$ caused by the application of a magnetic field. However, such features are absent in many other Gd compounds, e.g., GdCu_2Ge_2, GdAg_2Si_2, GdAu_2Si_2, GdPd_2Ge_2 and GdCo_2Si_2. Attempts to relate such features to magnetic precursor e…
The results of magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity (rho), and heat capacity measurements as a function of temperature are reported for the alloys, Ce2Rh(1-x)Co(x)Si3, crystallizing in an AlB2-derived hexagonal strcture. Ce2RhSi3 exhibits antiferromagnetic ordering at 7 K. The Neel temperature decreases gradually with the increase in Co concentration. For x greater than 0.6, no magnetic ordering is observed down to 0.5 K. Interestingly, the x= 0.6 alloy exhibits signatutes of non-Fermi liquid behavior, while the Co end member is a Fermi liquid. Thus, a transformation of magnetic ord…
Lattice dynamics in a sigma-Fe60V40 compound, which shows a re-entrant magnetism and orders ferromagnetic ally at ca. 170K, was investigated with the Mossbauer spectroscopy in the temperature interval of 5-300 K. Two relevant spectral parameters viz. the average center shift, <CS>, and the relative recoil-free fraction, f/fo, were explored. The former yielded the Debye temperature, T_D1, and the mean-square velocity of vibration, <v^2>, while the latter T_D2 and the mean-square amplitude of vibrations, <x^2>. Significant differences in the lattice-dynamical behaviors in the magnetic and parama…
We report the evolution of structural and magnetic properties in La2O3(Fe1-xMnx)2Se2. Heat capacity and bulk magnetization indicate an increased ferromagnetic component of the long-range magnetic order and possible increased degree of frustration. Atomic disorder on Fe(Mn) sites suppresses the temperature of the long-range order whereas intermediate alloys show a rich magnetic phase diagram.
Motivated by current research efforts towards exploring the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity in multiband electronic systems, we have investigated the effects of Eu substitution through thermodynamic measurements on the superconducting filled skutterudite alloys Pr$_{1-x}$Eu$_x$Pt$_4$Ge$_{12}$. An increase in Eu concentration leads to a suppression of the superconducting transition temperature consistent with an increase of magnetic entropy due to Eu local moments. While the low-temperature heat capacity anomaly is present over the whole doping range, we find that in alloys wi…
Co$_2$MnZ (Z = Al, Si, Ga, Ge, Sn) Heusler alloys as candidate materials for spintronic and microelectronic applications: Electronic structure, transport, and magnetism
M.N. Mikheev Institute of Metal Physics, UB RAS（M.N. 米凯耶夫金属物理研究所，俄罗斯科学院乌拉尔分院）；Ural Federal University（乌拉尔联邦大学）
We report extensive studies on the CeCo$_{1-x}$Fe$_{x}$Ge$_3$ alloys, which show quantum critical point (QCP) due to damping the antiferromagnetic order in CeCoGe$_3$ down to 0 K by doping with the paramagnetic CeFeGe$_3$ compound. The presence of QCP is confirmed by detecting the non-Fermi liquid behavior (NFL) using a wide range of the experimental methods: magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, electrical resistivity, magnetoresistance, and thermoelectric power. In the case of the thermoelectric power we find a clear enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient for $x$ around 0.6, i.e. in the ne…
The Nd1-xCexCoIn5 alloys evolve from local moment magnetism (x = 0) to heavy fermion superconductivity (x =1). Magnetic order is observed over a broad range of x. For a substantial range of x (0.83 <= x <= 0.95) in the temperature - composition phase diagram we find that superconductivity may coexist with spin - density wave magnetic order at the Fermi surface. We show that a delicate balance betwen superconducting and magnetic instabilities can be reversibly tuned by both the Ce/Nd ratio and magnetic field, offering a new and unique model electronic system.
FeCrAs displays an unusual electrical response that is neither metallic in character nor divergent at low temperatures, as expected for an insulating response, and therefore it has been termed a "nonmetal-metal". We carried out neutron scattering experiments on powder and single crystal samples to study the magnetic dynamics and critical fluctuations in FeCrAs. Magnetic neutron diffraction measurements find Cr3+ magnetic order setting in at 115 K with the mean-field critical exponent. Neutron spectroscopy, however, observes gapless stiff magnetic fluctuations emanating from magnetic positions …
Using first-principles calculations, in conjunction with Ising magnetism, we undertake a theoretical study to elucidate the origin of the experimentally observed Invar effects in disordered fcc iron-based ferromagnets. First, we show that our theory can account for the Invar effects in iron-nickel alloys, the anomalies being driven by the magnetic contributions to the average free energies. Second, we present evidence indicating that the relationship between thermal expansion and magnetism is essentially the same in all the studied alloys, including those which display the Invar effect and tho…
A first principles analysis of order-disorder transition in alloys shows that ordering energy is a function of temperature due to thermal vibrations. The inter-nuclear potential energy term converges if zero point vibrations are incorporated and this method can replace the Ewald sum method. Core energy contributions to the ordering energy are stored exclusively in superlattice lines. The effect of electron-phonon interactions on ordering energy is of the same order of magnitude as ordering energy near transition temperatures and cannot be ignored. Ising model and variants are incorrect in expl…
Certain alloys of iron and nickel (so-called 'Invar' alloys) exhibit almost no thermal expansion over a wide range of temperature. It is clear that this is the result of an anomalous contraction upon heating which counteracts the normal thermal expansion arising from the anharmonicity of lattice vibrations. This anomalous contraction seems to be related to the alloys' magnetic properties, since the effect vanishes at a temperature close to the Curie temperature. However, despite many years of intensive research, a widely accepted microscopic theory of the Invar effect in face-centered-cubic Fe…
Magnetic-field (H) induced first-order magnetic transition and the assiciated electronic phase-separation phenomena are active topics of research in magnetism. Magnetoresistance (MR) is a key property to probe these phenomena and, in literature, a butterfly-shaped MR loop has been noted while cycling the field, with the envelope curve lying below the virgin curve in MR versus H plots of such materials. Here, we report an opposite behavior of MR loop for an alloy, Tb4LuSi3, at low temperatures (<<20 K) in the magnetically ordered state. Such an anomalous curve reveals unexpected domination of h…
