2003 Volume 72 Issue 12 Pages 3231-3236
Specific heat, dc- and ac-magnetic susceptibility and magnetization measurements were performed on rare earth intermetallic compounds Ce1−xLuxB2C2 (0≤x≤0.31) in order to elucidate the magnetic interaction in CeB2C2. In the process of the substitution of Ce by Lu in CeB2C2, the characteristics of magnetic transition change from a first-order transition to a second-order one. Furthermore, the spin-glass phase appears at Lu concentration x=0.31. We suppose that the ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) interactions compete and nearly cancel out each other in CeB2C2, and hence that a biquadratic interaction might cause the first-order magnetic transition at TN. The Lu substitution breaks the competition between AFM and FM interactions and brings forth randomness in interactions acting on each Ce moment. The typical spin-glass behavior of x=0.31 originates in this random distribution of magnetic interactions.
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