Magnetic properties of Ising metamagnet in both external longitudinal and transverse fields

The phase diagrams of a two-sublattice Ising metamagnet at finite temperature in a mixed longitudinal field and a transverse magnetic field are investigated by the use of an effective-field theory (EFT) with correlations. In addition to the second-order transition lines, the first-order transition lines are also presented in the phase diagrams, since the Gibbs free energy can be calculated numerically. The results show that there is no fourth-order critical line in the phase diagrams given by using EFT as found by using mean-field theory (MFT). The tricritical lines and their projection in the t−h_x plane obtained by using EFT are also quite different from those by using MFT. Only one type of phase diagram is obtained by using EFT while three kinds of phase diagrams are obtained by using MFT, which indicates that only the first kind of phase diagrams obtained by using MFT is reliable. Furthermore, it is shown that the region of first-order transitions increases as the transverse magnetic field h_x decreases.     

Ground state phase diagrams and the tricritical behaviors of Ising metamagnet in both external longitudinal and transverse field

The ground state magnetic properties of a two-sublattice Ising metamegnet in both external longitudinal and transverse fields are studied within the mean-field approach. A parameter α=(Z₁J₁+Z₂J₂)/(Z₁J₁−Z₂J₂) which reflects the strength ratio of spin coupling in the plane and in adjacent planes is introduced. The ground state energy, the longitudinal staggered magnetization, the longitudinal total magnetization and the transverse total magnetization are calculated. The ground state phase diagrams in Ω−h and Ω−α plane are presented. The results show that when Ω is given, the longitudinal critical magnetic field increases when α decreases; the phase transition changes always from first order to second order with increase in the longitudinal magnetic field h or decrease in α. The reentrant phenomenon occurs in the range α?−0.66, Ω?0.21, h?0.78.     

Magnetic anisotropy of Tb1−xGdxMn6Sn6 compounds

Magnetization curves of Tb_1−xGd_xMn₆Sn₆ compounds (0?x?1) have been measured for aligned powder samples in the temperature range 4.2–300 K in pulsed magnetic fields up to 30 T. Temperature and concentration dependences of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constants K₁ and K₂ and concentration dependence of the temperature of spontaneous spin-reorientation transition have been determined. Using these data, we estimated the contribution of the manganese and terbium atoms to the magnetic anisotropy of Tb_1−xGd_xMn₆Sn₆ and analyzed the origin of the appearance of field-induced first-order magnetic phase transition in these compounds.     

The effective-field theory studies of critical phenomena in a mixed spin-1 and spin-2 Ising model on honeycomb and square lattices

An effective-field theory with correlations has been used to study critical behaviors of a mixed spin-1 and spin-2 Ising system on a honeycomb and square lattices in the absence and presence of a longitudinal magnetic field. The ground-state phase diagram of the model is obtained in the longitudinal magnetic field (h) and a single-ion potential or crystal-field interaction (Δ) plane. The thermal behavior of the sublattice magnetizations of the system are investigated to characterize the nature of (continuous and discontinuous) of the phase transitions and obtain the phase transition temperature. The phase diagrams are presented in the (Δ/|J|, k_BT/|J|) plane. The susceptibility, internal energy and specific heat of the system are numerically examined and some interesting phenomena in these quantities are found due to the absence and presence of the applied longitudinal magnetic field. Moreover, the system undergoes second- and first-order phase transition; hence, the system gives a tricritical point. The system also exhibits reentrant behavior.     

Magnetic study of phase separation and charge ordering in La1−xSrxMnO3 near x=0.5

We have investigated the magnetic phase diagram of polycrystalline and single-crystal La_1−xSr_xMnO₃ near 0.46≤x≤0.50. It turns out that for x<0.48, the polycrystalline material is ferromagnetic (FM), but for x≥0.48, incipient charge ordering takes place along with antiferromagnetism. At x=0.48, the ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition in ceramics occurs at less than 85 kOe but requires significantly larger field for increasing x. These observations are in contrast to what is found in the single crystals, which are all FM.     

The magnetic state of diamagnetically diluted antiferromagnetic cobalt and nickel monoxide

The nearest neighbour J₁(x) and the next-neighbour super-exchange J₂(x) interactions are evaluated by using the mean field theory for Mg1−xBxO (B=Co and Ni) systems. The magnetic energy E(x) is obtained. A magnetic phase diagram of the Mg1−xBxO (B=Co and Ni) solid solutions with 0?x?1 is drawn by high-temperature series expansions (HTSE) combined with the Padé approximants method (PA). The critical exponents associated with the magnetic susceptibility (γ) and with the correlation length (ν) are deduced in order phase.     

Enhancement of magnetoresistances at room temperature in YSZ doping La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 system

The temperature dependence of the resistance of composite samples (1−x)La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃+xYSZ with different YSZ doping level x was investigated at magnetic fields 0-3 T, where YSZ represents yttria-stabilized zirconia. Results show that the YSZ dopant does not only adjust the metal-insulator transition temperature, but also increases the magnetoresistance effect. With increase of YSZ doping level for the range of x<2%, the metal-insulator transition temperature values T_P of the composites decrease, but T_P increases with increase of x further for the range of x>2%. Meanwhile, in the YSZ-doped composites, a broad metal-insulator transition temperature region was found at zero and low magnetic field, which results in an obvious enhanced magnetoresistance in the temperature range 10-350 K. Specially, a larger magnetoresistance value was observed at room temperature at 3 T, which is encouraging with regard to the potential application of magnetoresistance materials.     

The large low-field magnetic entropy changes in Ni43Mn46Sn11−xSbx alloys

A series of Ni₄₃Mn₄₆Sn_11−xSb_x (x=0, 1, and 3) alloys were prepared by an arc melting method. The martensitic transition shifts to higher temperature with the increasing Sb content. The isothermal magnetization curves and Arrott plots around martensitic transition temperatures show a typical metamagnetic behavior. Under a low applied magnetic field of 10 kOe, large magnetic entropy changes around the martensitic transition temperature are 10.4, 8.9, and 7.3 J/kg K, for x=0, 1, and 3, respectively. The origin of the large magnetic entropy changes and potential application for Ni₄₃Mn₄₆Sn_11−xSb_x alloys as working substances in magnetic refrigeration are discussed.     

Metamagnetic transition and magnetocaloric effect in charge-ordered Pr0.68Ca0.32−xSrxMnO3 (x=0, 0.1, 0.18, 0.26 and 0.32) compounds

In this study, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of Pr_0.68Ca_0.32−xSr_xMnO₃ (x=0, 0.1, 0.18, 0.26 and 0.32) compounds were investigated. X-ray results indicated that all the samples have a single phase of orthorhombic symmetry. The orthorhombic unit cell parameters increase with the increase in Sr content. Large negative magnetic entropy changes (−26.2 J/kg K at 38 K and 5 T for x=0 and −6.5 J/kg K at 83 K and 6 T for x=0.1) were attributed to ultrasharp metamagnetic transitions. The peak value of ΔS_m decreased from −4.1 J/kg K for x=0.18 sample to −2.4 J/kg K for x=0.32 at 1 T magnetic field.     

Structures, magnetic properties, and magnetocaloric effect in MnCo1−xGe (0.02?x?0.2) compounds

The crystalline structures, magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of MnCo_1−xGe alloys (0.02?x?0.2) have been reported. The crystalline structures of MnCo_1−xGe (x?0.06) alloys are mainly of TiNiSi-type phase, and Ni₂In-type structure dominates for x>0.06. With decreasing Co concentrations the saturated magnetization of these compounds decreases. Large low-field magnetic entropy change −ΔS_M of about 2.3 J/kg K in MnCo_0.94Ge alloy has been obtained for a magnetic field change of 1 T. Moreover, it is found that TiNiSi-type phase exhibits larger −ΔS_M than Ni₂In-type one. For MnCo_0.94Ge alloy, considerable low-field refrigerant capacity (RC) (∼460 mJ/cm³), low coercivity and easy synthesis make these alloys potential candidates for near-room temperature magnetic refrigerants.     

Phase boundary between uniaxial and planar ferromagnets in layered perovskite manganite La2−2xSr1+2xMn2O7 (0.313⩽x⩽0.350)

We have examined magnetizations as a function of temperature and magnetic field in layered perovskite manganites La_2−2xSr_1+2xMn₂O₇ single crystals (x=0.313, 0.315, 0.318, 0.320 and 0.350) in order to determine the phase boundary between two ferromagnets (one is an uniaxial ferromagnet whose easy axis is parallel to the c-axis and the other is a planar ferromagnet whose easy axis is within the ab-plane) and following results are obtained: (i) all the present manganites exhibit magnetic transitions from a ferromagnet to a paramagnet at 76, 107, 116, 120 and 125 K for x=0.313, 0.315, 0.318, 0.320 and 0.350, respectively; (ii) for x=0.318, 0.320 and 0.350, the magnetic structure is a planar ferromagnet below Curie temperature; (iii) for x=0.313 and 0.315, the magnetic structure changes from an uniaxial to a planar ferromagnet at 66 and 85 K, respectively. From the results described above we have constructed the magnetic phase diagram of layered perovskite manganite La_2−2xSr_1+2xMn₂O₇ (0.313?x?0.350).     

Measurement of the coupling strength distribution in ferromagnetic (F)/antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange bias systems

We propose a method for determination of the distribution function P(j) of the coupling energy density j in polycrystalline textured ferromagnetic (F)/antiferromagnetic (AF) film systems. P(j) governs the entire film coupling J and the exchange bias field H_e and was not measurable until now. The method is verified by torquemetry in a high magnetic field and by reversing its rotation sense. The transition to a new magnetic steady state after rotation reversal is analyzed within a Stoner–Wohlfarth model including thermal relaxation. This transition is completed earlier for strongly coupled grains than for grains with smaller j, which is reflected in the torque curves. We determined P(j) for a sputtered NiFe(16 nm)/IrMn(0.8 nm) film at T=50 K in the hysteretic range of coupling energies and found that P strongly decreases for increasing j.     

Spin glass-like behavior,giant magnetocaloric and giant magnetoresistance effect in PrPb manganites

The Pr_1−xPb_xMnO₃ (x=0.1–0.5) perovskites have been fabricated by solid-state reaction. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the samples are of single phase with orthorhombic structure. The field-cooled (FC) and zero-field-cooled (ZFC) thermomagnetic curves measured at low field and low temperatures exhibit the spin glass-like state. The Curie temperature of samples increased with increase in Pb content. The maximum magnetic entropy change |ΔS_m|_max reaches the giant values of 3.91 and 3.68 J/kg K for quite low magnetic field change of 1.35 T for the samples x=0.1 and 0.4, respectively. The resistance measurements show that there is insulator–metal phase transition on the R(T) curves for samples with x?0.3. The giant magnetoresistance effect is also observed for all samples studied.     

Magnetic and magnetocaloric results of magnetic field-induced transitions in La1−xCexMn2Si2 (x=0.35 and 0.45) compounds

The La_1−xCe_xMn₂Si₂ compounds (x=0.35 and 0.45) exhibit an antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic transition caused by the changes in distance between Mn atoms due to temperature changes. A field-induced transition from antiferromagnetic state to ferromagnetic state at a critical field, which decreases with increase in temperature, can also be induced by applying a magnetic field. In this paper our aim is to study the magnetization and magnetocaloric effect, close to transition temperatures. Our subsidiary aim is to examine the temperature dependence of critical field and ferromagnetic fraction of compounds. The variation of magnetocaloric effect with temperature is correlated with the ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase coexistence. Our final aim is to examine the harmony between magnetocaloric effect values calculated both by the Maxwell theory and by the Landau theory.     

Large room temperature magnetoresistance in YSZ doped La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 composite

The temperature dependence of the resistivity for composite samples of (1−x)La_0.67Ba_0.33MnO₃+xYSZ(LBMO/YSZ) with different YSZ doping level of x has been investigated in a magnetic field range of 0-7000 Oe, where the YSZ represents yttria-stabilized zirconia (8 mol% Y₂O₃+92 mol% ZrO₂). With increasing YSZ doping level, the range of 0-10%, the metal-insulator transition temperature (T_P) decreases. However, the resistivity, specially the low temperature resistivity, increases. Results also show that the YSZ doping level has an important effect on a low field magnetoresistance (LFMR). In the magnetic field of 7000 Oe, a room temperature magnetoresistance value of 20% was observed for the composite with a YSZ doping level of 2%, which is encouraging for potential application of CMR materials at room temperature and low field.     

Magnetic properties of the Ce2Fe17−xMnx helical magnets up to high magnetic fields

Magnetic properties of the Ce₂Fe_17−xMn_x, x=0–2, alloys in magnetic fields up to 40 T are reported. The compounds with x=0.5–1 are helical antiferromagnets and those with 1<x?2 are helical ferromagnets or helical antiferromagnets at low and high T, respectively. Mn ions in the system carry average magnetic moment of 3.0±0.2 μ_B that couple antiparallelly to the Fe moments. Easy-plane magnetic anisotropy in the Ce₂Fe_17−xMn_x compounds weakens upon substitution of Mn for Fe. The absolute value of the first anisotropy constant in the Ce₂Fe_17−xMn_x helical ferromagnets decreases slower with increasing temperature than that calculated from the third power of the spontaneous magnetization. Noticeable magnetic hysteresis in the Ce₂Fe_17−xMn_x, x=0.5–2, helical magnets over the whole range of magnetic fields reflects mainly irreversible deformation of the helical magnetic structure during the magnetization of the compounds. A contribution from short-range order (SRO) magnetic clusters to the magnetic hysteresis of the helical magnets has been also estimated.     

Ground-state magnetic properties of the spin-2 transverse Ising model

The ground-state magnetic properties of the spin-2 transverse Ising model with a longitudinal crystal field are studied within the framework of mean-field theory (MFT) and effective-field theory (EFT), respectively. The phase diagrams and magnetization curves are examined in detail. It is found that the system exhibits a tricritical behavior in the ground-state phase diagrams. Some interesting phenomena have been found, especially the first-order phase transition from one ordered phase to the other ordered phase, which is due to the high spin. The spin correlation has important effect on the magnetic properties of the system. We also find that the ground-state phase diagrams of the spin-2 transverse Ising model are very different from those of the spin-3/2 transverse Ising model.     

Magnetocaloric effect: Overcoming the magnetic limit

We have studied anomalous peaks observed in magnetocaloric −ΔS(T) curves for systems that undergo first-order magnetostructural transitions. The origin of those peaks, which can exceed the conventional magnetic limit, R ln(2J+1), is discussed on thermodynamic bases by introducing an additional-exchange contribution (due to exchange constant variation arising from magnetostructural transition). We also applied a semiphenomenological model to include this additional-exchange contribution in Gd₅Si₂Ge₂- and MnAs-based systems, obtaining excellent results for the observed magnetocaloric effect.     

Magnetic phase diagram of the Ca1−xMnxO systems

The magnetic properties of the Ca_1−xMn_xO systems in the range 0?x?1 have been studied by mean field theory and high-temperature series expansions (HTSEs). By using the first theory, we have evaluated the nearest neighbour and the next-neighbour super-exchange interaction J₁(x) and J₂(x) respectively, in the range 0.45?x?1. The corresponding classical exchange energy for magnetic structure is obtained for the Ca_1−xMn_xO systems. The HTSEs combined with the Padé approximants (PA) method is applied to the Ca_1−xMn_xO systems; we have obtained the magnetic phase diagrams (TN or TSG versus dilution x) in the range 0?x?1. The obtained theoretical results are in agreement with experimental ones obtained by magnetic measurements. The critical exponents associated with the magnetic susceptibility (γ) and the correlation lengths (ν) are deduced in the range 0?x?1.     

Structural and magnetic phase diagram and room temperature CMR effect of La1−xAgxMnO3

The study of the structural and magnetic phase diagram of the manganites La_1−xAg_xMnO₃ shows similarity with the La_1−x′Sr_x′MnO₃ series, involving a metallic ferromagnetic domain at relatively high temperature (≈300 K). The Ag-system differs from the Sr-one by a much smaller homogeneity range (x≤1/6) and the absence of charge ordering. But the most important feature of the Ag-manganites deals with the exceptionally high magnetoresistance (−25%) at room temperature under 1.2 T, that appears for the composition x=1/6. The latter is interpreted as the coincidence of the optimal double exchange condition (Mn³⁺:Mn⁴⁺=2) with T_max=300 K (maximum of the ρ(T) curve in zero field).