Magnetism in Rb$_{x}$Sr$_{1-x}$C novel alloy

Abstract

We report a study on the electronic and magnetic properties of a novel Rb$_{x}$Sr$_{1-x}$C alloy. We find that the variation of the lattice parameter as function of Rb composition exhibits a deviation from the Vegard's law of about 0.4 {\AA}. The total energy results predict a ferromagnetic ordering for Sr-rich alloy, and antiferromagnetic ordering for RbC-rich alloy with a total magnetic moment ranging from 2 to 3$\mu_\text{B}$ per cation. As for the parent compounds, RbC and SrC, the origin of magnetism arises from the polarization of the carbon $p$-orbitals. From the spin-polarized calculations, we note that the half-metallicity in the Rb$_{x}$Sr$_{1-x}$C alloy is confirmed for $x<0.875$. On the other hand, a direct band gap is observed in the semiconducting spin part, in contrast to the pure parent compounds.