Metamagnetism

This is a review of the physical properties of metamagnets. These are antiferromagnets which, upon the application of a magnetic field, can undergo first-order magnetic phase transitions to a state with a relatively large magnetic moment. The treatments of mean field theory describing these materials are reviewed, as are the treatments of more modern theories. The experimental properties of the known metamagnets are discussed, with emphasis on the variety of means by which the metamagnetic transitions have been observed and studied. For some materials, there have been studies of the tricritical behaviour, and a discussion of the experimental results of these studies is given, along with a comparison of the results with the present theory.