RRhGe (R=Tb, Dy, Er, Tm): An experimental and theoretical study

Abstract

RRhGe (R=Tb, Dy, Er, Tm) compounds have been studied by a number of experimental probes and theoretical ab initio calculations. These compounds show very interesting magnetic and electrical properties. All the compounds are antiferromagnetic with some of them showing spin-reorientation transition at low temperatures. The magnetocaloric effect (MCE) estimated from magnetization data shows very good value in all these compounds. The electrical resistivity shows metallic behavior of these compounds. MR shows negative sign near ordering temperatures and positive at low temperatures. The electronic structure calculations accounting for electronic correlations in the 4f rare-earth shell reveal the closeness of the antiferromagnetic ground state and other types of magnetic orderings in the rare-earth sublattice.