Itinerant magnetism of GdxLa1-xMSi (M=Fe, Co) compounds

The magnetic properties of polycrystalline and single crystalline rare earth transition metal silicides GdxLa1-xMSi (M =Fe, Co) were investigated. Magnetic measurements have been made in static magnetic fields up to 13 kOe and in pulsed magnetic fields up to 250 kOe in the temperature range from 4.2 to 350 K. The magnetic susceptibility in the paramagnetic state of all the investigated compounds obeys the Curie-Weiss law except for LaFeSi and LaCoSi. Increase of the La content in GdxLa1-xFeSi compounds leads to a decrease of the Curie and Neel temperatures, which can be explained by a decrease of positive exchange interactions. (orig.)