G.F. Wang

Analysis of the first-order phase transition of (Mn,Fe)2(P,Si,Ge) using entropy change scaling

For materials with small size of the discontinuities of the free energy derivatives at transition, it is not so easy to determine the order of the transition using the criterion of the Arrott plot. In our previous paper, we found that the Mn2?xFexP0.6Si0.25Ge0.15 compounds with x?=?0.7 and 0.8 undergo first-order phase transitions but apparently shows some characteristics of a second-order phase transition. In this paper, we have employed the Arrott plot and entropy change scaling to analyse the nature of the transitions for those compounds. The results reveal that the use of entropy change scaling is more effective than the Arrott plot for determining the nature of the transition in such materials.

Critical Behavior of Gd5Si2Ge1.9Ga0.1 near the Ferromagnetic-Paramagnetic Phase Transition

The critical behavior near the ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition in Gd5Si2Ge1.9Ga0.1 has been investigated using a method based on the field dependence of isothermal entropy change. The reliability of the critical exponents determined in such a way has been examined through various techniques, like constructing the modified Arrott plot, applying the scaling law on the isothermal magnetization curves, and comparing the values with those obtained from the Kouvel-Fisher model. The resulting values of the exponents were estimated to be = 0.45(2), = 1.31(5), = 3.9(2) and = 0.69(1), close to the values predicted by the mean field theory. Hence, we concluded that the exchange interaction is of long-range type.