Phase transition and anomalous low temperature ferromagnetic phase in Pr 0.6Sr 0.4MnO 3 single crystals

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Date
2009
Volume
22
Issue
2
Journal
Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism
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Publisher
New York, NY : Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
Abstract

We report on the magnetic and electrical properties of Pr 0.6Sr 0.4MnO 3 single crystals. This compound undergoes a continuous paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition with a Curie temperature T C301 K and a first-order structural transition at T S64 K. At T S, the magnetic susceptibility exhibits an abrupt jump, and a corresponding small hump is seen in the resistivity. The critical behavior of the static magnetization and the temperature dependence of the resistivity are consistent with the behavior expected for a nearly isotropic ferromagnet with short-range exchange belonging to the Heisenberg universality class. The magnetization (M-H) curves below T S are anomalous in that the virgin curve lies outside the subsequent M-H loops. The hysteretic structural transition at T S as well as the irreversible magnetization processes below T S can be explained by phase separation between a high-temperature orthorhombic and a low-temperature monoclinic ferromagnetic phase.

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CC BY-NC 2.0 Unported