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Phase Gap In Pseudoternary R1-Yry Mn2x 2-Xxx Compounds, Jianli Wang, S J. Kennedy, S J. Campbell, M Hofmann, S X. Dou

Jianli Wang

Our neutron diffraction investigation of PrMn2Ge2−xSix reveals a clear separation into two magnetic phases, canted ferromagnetic (Fmc) and antiferromagnetic (AFmc), between x = 1.0 and 1.2 and a commensurate phase gap in the lattice, due to magnetostrictive distortion. This remarkable magnetoelastic phenomenon is driven by a nonuniform atomic distribution on the X site which in turn produces subtle variations in the local lattice and abrupt changes in the Mn-Mn magnetic exchange interaction. Our results show that coexistence of Fmc and AFmc phases depends on lattice parameter, chemical pressure from the rare-earth and metalloid sites, and local lattice strain distributions. We …