ISSN:
1089-7550
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
Notes:
The magnetic properties of a stoichiometric Pr2NiO4 single crystal have been examined by means of the temperature dependence of the complex ac susceptibility and the isothermal magnetization in fields up to 200 kOe at T=4.2 K. Three separate phases have been identified and their anisotropic character has been analyzed. A collinear antiferromagnetic phase appears first between TN = 325 K and Tc1 = 115 K, where the Pr ions are polarized by an internal magnetic field. At Tc1 a first modification of the magnetic structure occurs in parallel with a structural phase transition (Bmab to P42/ncm). This magnetic transition has a first-order character and involves both the out-of-plane and the in-plane spin components (magnetic modes gx and gxcyfz, respectively). A second magnetic transition having also a first-order character is also clearly identified at Tc2 = 90 K which corresponds to a spin reorientation process (gxcyfz to cxgyaz magnetic modes). It should be noted as well that the out-of-phase component of χac shows a peak around 30 K which reflects the coexistence of both magnetic configurations in a wide temperature interval. Finally, two field-induced transitions have been observed at 4.2 K when the field is directed along the c axis. We propose that the high-field anomaly arises from a metamagnetic transition of the weak ferromagnetic component, similarly to La2CuO4.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.349958
