ITINERANT ELECTRON METAMAGNETISM AND SPIN FLUCTUATIONS IN NEARLY FERROMAGNETIC METALS Y(CO1-XALX)2

High-field magnetisation- and temperature-dependent susceptibility of Laves phase inter-metallic compounds Y(Co1-xAlx)2 are investigated in the strongly exchange-enhanced paramagnetic region (0<or=x<or=0.11) in pulsed magnetic fields up to 100 T. In the whole concentration range, a sharp metamagnetic transition is observed in the low-temperature magnetisation process, while the low-field susceptibility exhibits a maximum at finite temperatures. The transition field Bc and the temperature of the susceptibility maximum Tmax obtained as a function of x indicate a linear relationship, i.e. Bc/T max=constant. The result clearly suggests that the susceptibility maximum of the nearly ferromagnetic metals is strongly correlated with itinerant electron metamagnetism.