Magnetic properties of the single crystalline Dy3Ni studied by magnetization measurement and 161Dy Moessbauer spectroscopy

Magnetic properties of Dy3Ni have been investigated by means of magnetization measurement and 161Dy Moessbauer spectroscopy on the single-crystalline and powdered samples, respectively. Dy3Ni is a noncollinear antiferromagnet below TN=52 K. There occur two antiferromagnetic order-order transitions at Tt1=22 K and Tt2=34 K. The effective paramagnetic moment μeff is 11.7 μB/Dy whose large value is presumably attributable to the paramagnetic moment on the Ni atom. The metamagnetic transitions occur around 45, 78 and 51 kOe at 4.2 K along the a-, b- and c-axis, respectively. The Moessbauer spectroscopy has shown that the Dy3+ ions are in strong crystal fields of A02∝800 K/a20 and have the full moment of 10 μB. There is no evidence for the Ni moment to participate in the magnetic ordering below TN down to 4.2 K. (orig.)