Irreversibility of the magnetic state of Tm1-x Tbx Co2 revealed by specific heat, electrical resistivity, and neutron diffraction measurements

Abstract

The substitution of Tb for Tm in the Laves phase compound Tm Co2 leads to appearance of a magnetic moment on the Co atoms through the metamagnetic transition in the itinerant d -electron subsystem and gives rise to long-range ferrimagnetic order in Tm1-x Tbx Co2 at x≥0.15. The magnetic state of the compound Tm0.9 Tb0.1 Co2, i.e., just below the critical Tb concentration, is characterized by the presence of large regions with short-range magnetic order and localized spin fluctuations (LSFs) induced in the Co 3d -electron subsystem by the fluctuating f-d exchange due to the Tm-Tb substitution. The peculiar magnetic state of this compound is strongly influenced by an external magnetic field which produces a first-order magnetic phase transition to a long-range ferrimagnetic state with the magnetic moment on the Co atoms up to (0.7-0.8) μB. This field-induced transition in Tm0.9 Tb0.1 Co2 is found to be irreversible. It is accompanied by a giant and irreversible reduction of the electrical resistivity (Δρ ρ∼-45%), specific heat (by about 3.7 times at 2 K), and intensity of magnetic neutron scattering. Such behavior is associated with the field-induced metamagnetic transition in the itinerant d -electron subsystem mediated by the f-d exchange. Significantly enhanced values of the residual resistivity and the coefficient γ of the T -linear contribution to the specific heat in the compound with x=0.1 as well as their unusual behavior with temperature and under application of the magnetic field is ascribed to the presence of LSF. © 2006 The American Physical Society.