The magnetic ground state of the Eu 2+ moments in a series of Eu(Fe1−xCox)2As2 single crystals grown from the Sn flux has been investigated in detail by neutron diffraction measurements. Combined with the results from the macroscopic properties (resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat) measurements, a phase diagram describing how the Eu magnetic order evolves with Co doping in Eu(Fe1−xCox)2As2 is established. The ground-state magnetic structure of the Eu 2+ spins is found to develop from the A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) order in the parent compound, via the A-type canted AFM structure with some net ferromagnetic (FM) moment component along the crystallographic c direction at intermediate Co doping levels, finally to the pure FM order at relatively high Co doping levels. The ordering temperature of Eu declines linearly at first, reaches the minimum value of 16.5(2) K around x = 0.100(4), and then reverses upwards with further Co doping. The doping-induced modification of the indirect Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction between the Eu 2+ moments, which is mediated by the conduction d electrons on the (Fe,Co)As layers, as well as the change of the strength of the direct interaction between the Eu 2+ and Fe 2+ moments, might be responsible for the change of the magnetic ground state and the ordering temperature of the Eu sublattice. In addition, for Eu(Fe1−xCox)2As2 single crystals with 0.10 x 0.18, strong ferromagnetism from the Eu sublattice is well developed in the superconducting state, where a spontaneous vortex state is expected to account for the compromise between the two competing phenomena.

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We report results from a study on the influence of the substitution of Zn 2+ cations in the Y-type Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2Fe12O22 hexaferrite, known for strong magnetoelectric coupling, with magnetic cations, such as Ni 2+ , on its structural and magnetic properties. Polycrystalline samples of Ba0.5Sr1.5ZnNiFe12O22 were synthesized by citric acid solgel auto-combustion. The saturation magnetization value of 54.7 emu/g at 4.2 K was reduced to 37.2 emu/g at 300 K. The temperature dependence of the magnetization at magnetic fields of 50 Oe, 100 Oe and 500 Oe were used to determine the magnetic phase transition temperature. We demonstrate that the helical spin state, believed to cause the magnetoelectric effect, can be achieved by varying the magnetic field strength within a given temperature range.

The simultaneous presence of a Fe-related spin-density wave and antiferromagnetic order of Eu 2+ moments ranks EuFe 2 As 2 among the most interesting parent compounds of iron-based pnictide superconductors. Here we explore the consequences of the dilution of Eu 2+ magnetic lattice through on-site Ca substitution. By employing macro-and microscopic techniques, including electrical transport and magnetometry, as well as muon-spin spectroscopy, we study the evolution of Eu magnetic order in both the weak and strong dilution regimes, achieved for Ca concentration x(Ca) = 0.12 and 0.43, respectively. We demonstrate the localized character of the Eu antiferromagnetism mediated via RKKY interactions, in contrast with the largely itinerant nature of Fe magnetic interactions. Our results suggest a weak coupling between the Fe and Eu magnetic sublattices and a rapid decrease of the Eu magnetic interaction strength upon Ca substitution. The latter is confirmed both by the depression of the ordering temperature of the Eu 2+ moments, T N , and the decrease of magnetic volume fraction with increasing x(Ca). We establish that, similarly to the EuFe 2 As 2 parent compound, the investigated Ca-doped compounds have a twinned structure and undergo a permanent detwinning upon applying an external magnetic field. arXiv:1805.03896v2 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Low-temperature dc-magnetization, ac electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements were performed on single crystals of the intermetallic compound β-IrSn4. The compound crystallizes in the tetragonal MoSn4-type structure (space group I41/acd) and exhibits superconductivity below Tc = 0.9 ± 0.05 K. Further, the magnitude of the ratios ΔCp/(γnkBTc) = 1.29, 2Δ/(kBTc) = 3.55 and of the electron-phonon coupling λ[overline](e-ph) = 0.5 imply that superconductivity in β-IrSn4 can be ascribed to a s-wave weak coupling regime. We determined crucial thermodynamic characteristics of the superconducting state. It turned out that depending on the assumption of either a spherical or non-spherical Fermi surface, the superconductivity can be ascribed to either a type-I and type-II/1 or type-II in clean limit, respectively. However, the behavior of the upper critical field and the anisotropic crystalline structure of the studied compound provide strong support to the type-II superconductivity. In the normal state the resistivity exhibits a prominent quadratic temperature dependence, which together with a large Kadowaki-Woods ratio and with the enhanced effective mass indicate that the electrons in β-IrSn4 are strongly correlated.