Magnetization scaling in the paramagnetic phase of Mn1-xFexSi solid solutions

Abstract

The magnetization field and temperature dependences in the paramagnetic phase of Mn1-xFexSi solid solutions with x<0.3 are investigated in the range B<5 T and T<60 K. It is found that field dependences of the magnetization M(B,T=const) exhibit scaling behavior of the form B\partial M/\partial B-M=F(B/(T-Ts)), where Ts denotes an empirically determined temperature of the transition into the magnetic phase with fluctuation driven short-range magnetic order and F(\c{hi}) is a universal scaling function for given composition. The scaling relation allowed concluding that the magnetization in the paramagnetic phase of Mn1-xFexSi is represented by the sum of two terms. The first term is saturated by the scaling variable \c{hi}=B/(T-Ts), whereas the second is linearly dependent on the magnetic field. A simple analytical formula describing the magnetization is derived and applied to estimates of the parameters characterizing localized magnetic moments in the studied system. The obtained data may be qualitatively interpreted assuming magnetic inhomogeneity of the paramagnetic phase on the nanoscale.