Unconventional critical behaviour in weak ferromagnets Fe2-xMnxCrAl (0<x<1)
Abstract
Recent studies on weak ferromagnets Fe2-xMnxCrAl (0<x<1) reveal the presence of cluster glass (CG) and Griffiths phase (GP) below and above the ferromagnetic transition temperature (TC) [(2019) Sci. Rep. 9 15888]. In this work, the influence of these inhomogeneous phases on the critical behaviour (around TC) of the above-mentioned series of alloys has been investigated in detail. For the parent alloy Fe2CrAl, γ is estimated as ~ 1.34, which lies near to ordered 3D Heisenberg model, whereas obtained value of β ~ 0.273 does not belong to any universality class. With increment in Mn concentration, both exponents γ and eta increases, where γ and β approaches disordered 3D Heisenberg model and ordered 3D Heisenberg model, respectively. The observed deviation in γ and unconventional value of δ can be ascribed to the increment in GP with Mn-concentration. The trend noted for β can be attributed to the increment in CG regime with an increase in Mn-content. The self-consistency and reliability of the estimated exponents are verified by the Widom scaling relation and scaling equations of state. Our studies indicate that the critical phenomenon of Fe2-xMnxCrAl (0<x<1) alloys possibly belong to a separate class and is not described within the framework of any existing universal model.