Structural and magnetic properties of the quasicrystal approximant Au$_{65}$Ga$_{21}$Tb$_{14}$

Abstract

Magnetic properties of the quasicrystal approximant Au$_{65}$Ga$_{21}$Tb$_{14}$ were investigated by the magnetization and the neutron diffraction experiments. The temperature dependences of the magnetic susceptibility and the magnetization curve indicate dominant ferromagnetic interactions, while the whirling antiferromagnetic order was found from the neutron diffraction experiments. In the antiferromagnetic phase, the magnetic moments are aligned almost perpendicular to a pseudo five-fold symmetry axis, which should correspond to the easy-axis direction of a Tb atom. The magnetic properties similar to those of Au$_{72}$Al$_{14}$Tb$_{14}$ in spite of the difference in the electron-per-atom ratio suggest the robustness of the easy-axis anisotropy against the chemical substitution of the nonmagnetic atoms.