Natural behavior of the magnetization under spontaneous reorientation: TmFeO₃, ErFeO₃

Abstract

A SQUID magnetometer is used to study the behavior of the magnetization of TmFeO3 single crystals along the a and c principal crystallographic axes in the Γ4-Γ24-Γ2 spin reorientation range. The temperature dependences are obtained as the moduli of the magnetization vector M and its turn angle θ in the reorientation range. The results are compared with the same results for ErFeO3. It is shown that even though the experimental dependences M(T) and θ(T) are qualitatively different in TmFeO3 and ErFeO3 they can all be convincingly described on the basis of a modified mean-field theory previously proposed by the authors. Since the theoretical analysis does not include any parameters which are not known from experiment, the agreement between theory and experiment confirms that the model proposed for describing Γ4-Γ24-Γ2 phase transitions in orthoferrites is a general model. Dedicated to E. S. Borovik - Scientist and Humanitarian "Who can say what influence the silent presence of one person has on another?" Walter De la Mar © 2005 American Institute of Physics.