Thermodynamic and magnetic properties of HoRh2Si2: A comparison between experiments and calculations in a crystal field model

The origin of two peaks observed in the magnetization and the heat capacity curves of HoRh₂Si₂ is investigated. The thermodynamic and the magnetic properties of this compound are calculated using a Hamiltonian including crystal field and isotropic exchange interaction terms which are comparable in magnitude. Two components (parallel and perpendicular to the c-axis) of the magnetization are evaluated by the molecular field approximation. The two peaks in the magnetization and the heat capacity can be reproduced by choosing appropriate values for crystal field parameters and molecular field constant. The lower transition temperature corresponds to the temperature at which the perpendicular component of the magnetization disappears, and the higher one, to that at which the parallel component of the magnetization disappears.