Paper detail

Magnetization, magnetostriction, and their relationship in Invar Fe$_{1-x}A_{x}$ ($A={\rm Pt},{\rm Ni}$)

A method is proposed for investigating the spontaneous magnetization, the spontaneous volume magnetostriction, and their relationship in disordered face-centered-cubic Fe$_{0.72}$Pt$_{0.28}$ and Fe$_{0.65}$Ni$_{0.35}$ in the temperature interval $0 \leq T/T_{\rm C} < 1$. It relies on the disordered local moment formalism and the observation that the reduced magnetization in each of the investigated materials is accurately described by an equation of the form $M(T)/M(0) = [ 1 -s (T/T_{\rm C})^{3/2}- (1-s)(T/T_{\rm C})^{p} ]^{q}$. The present approach yields interesting results. The alloys at zero Kelvin share several physical properties: the volume in a partially disordered local moment state shrinks as the fraction of Fe moments which point down increases in the interval $0 < x^{{\rm Fe}\downarrow} < 1/2$, following closely $V(0) - 4 [V(0)-V(1/2)] x^{{\rm Fe}\downarrow} (1-x^{{\rm Fe}\downarrow})$, while the magnetization collapses, following closely $M(0) - 2 M(0) x^{{\rm Fe}\downarrow}$; the volume in the homogeneous ferromagnetic state greatly exceeds that in the disordered local moment state; $x^{{\rm Fe}\downarrow}(0)$ is close to zero. These common properties can account for a variety of intriguing phenomena displayed by both alloys, including the anomaly in the magnetostriction at zero Kelvin and, more surprisingly perhaps, the scaling between the reduced magnetostriction and the reduced magnetization squared below the Curie temperature. However, the thermal evolution of the fraction of Fe moments which point down depends strongly on the alloy under consideration. This, in turn, can explain the observed marked difference in the temperature dependence of the reduced magnetization between the two alloys.