Atomic short-range order and magnetism in Pt1-xCrx alloys

Atomic short-range order and magnetism in Pt1-xCrx alloys with x=0.07, 0.10, 0.13, and 0.16 were studied by means of neutron scattering and susceptibility measurements. The latter showed a spin-glass-type anomaly at low temperature for x=0.13 and 0.16, but a monotonic increase towards the lowest temperature for x=0.07 and 0.10. In neutron scattering, broad satellite peaks with asymmetric intensities were observed for all specimens along the [1 0 0] direction, even at room temperature. These peaks are well explained as a concentration wave of constituent atoms accompanied with a periodic lattice deformation. Magnetic diffuse scattering was observed for the specimens with x=0.13 and 0.16. The origin of the spin-glass-like behavior in these alloys is ascribed to the dynamics and freezing of spin-density-wave cluster fluctuations, similar to the case of CuMn spin-glass alloys. A breakdown of the Kondo singlet state was studied for an x=0.10 nonmagnetic alloy using neutron scattering under a magnetic field of 6 T