Spin density wave and antiferromagnetic transition in EuFe2As2: a high field transport and heat capacity study

Abstract

Abstract Here we reported structural, electrical, magnetic, and thermal transport properties of ternary pnictide bulk iron based compound EuFe2As2 (Eu-122). This compound (Eu-122) crystallized in ThCr2Si2-type tetragonal phase structure with space group I4/mmm at ambient temperature. A promising divalent state (Eu2+) of Eu-ions was observed in the studied EuFe2As2. Magnetic ordering of Eu2+ ions takes place at very low temperature at around T N = 20 K in EuFe2As2. The ferromagnetic interactions between Fe–Fe ions were established at higher temperature which was revealed from magnetic susceptibility measurements with negative value of the paramagnetic Curie temperature. Both magnetic phase transitions (20 K and 190 K) were clearly established the intrinsic magnetic nature revealed by both electrical transport and specific heat measurement. However the phase transition at low temperature corresponds to the magnetic ordering of Eu2+ ions while the high transition temperature is due to the itinerant moment of Fe. EuFe2As2 is the only compound among various parent compounds of iron pnictide superconductor’s family, in which both spin density wave (SDW) of Fe and A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering of the localized Eu2+ magnetic moments take place simultaneously. We observed here that the localized character of Eu anti-ferromagnetism dominated via RKKY interactions, despite the largely itinerant nature of Fe magnetic interactions. The resistivity with applied magnetic field revealed that the AFM ordering temperature of Eu2+ ions suppress with applied magnetic field. Also resistivity under hydrostatic pressure measurements shows the T SDW (Fe) transition of the Fe moments shifts towards the lower temperatures while AFM ordering of Eu2+ decreases with pressure and the same is completely disappears at 2 GPa.