Effect of local environment on the magnetic properties of the (Ni1-xCox)2MnSn alloy

The electronic structure and the ground-state properties of the quaternary Heusler alloy (Ni1-xCox)2MnSn has been studied by the self-consistent TB-LMTO method. The ground-state properties are in good agreement with experimental data. In particular, the observed linear change of total magnetic moment with concentration x is reproduced by our calculations. We present the values of local magnetic moments of the Co and Ni atoms for various possible configurations. The dependence of magnetic moments on the local environment is studied in detail for all concentrations. (orig.)