A generalized magnetic refrigeration scheme

Abstract

We have investigated the magnetocaloric effects in antiferromagnets and compared them with those in ferromagnets using Monte Carlo simulations. In antiferromagnets, the magnetic entropy reaches a maximum value at a finite magnetic field when the temperature is fixed below the N\'eel temperature. Using the fact, we proposed a protocol for applying magnetic fields to achieve the maximum efficiency for magnetic refrigeration in antiferromagnets. In particular, we found that at low temperatures, antiferromagnets are more useful for magnetic refrigeration than ferromagnets.