INDUCED 3D-MAGNETISM IN THE TERNARY INTERMETALLIC COMPOUND PD2GDIN

Magnetisation measurements on Pd2GdIn chemically disordered into the B2 structure reveal a magnetically ordered state below approximately 7 K. The saturation magnetisation obtained in fields up 5 T using a squid magnetometer yields an extrapolated moment at 0 K significantly larger than that expected for a Gd3+ ion. Above approximately 15K the Curie-Weiss susceptibility produces an effective moment closer to that expected for Gd3+. On the basis of these measurements it is suggested that the local moment on the Gd atoms polarises the Pd atoms through an indirect exchange mechanism. Below approximately 7K the magnetic isotherms reveal a field-induced transition ferromagnetism, suggesting that the magnetic order in zero applied field may be complex. The results provide new information relevant to the interpretation of recent neutron diffraction data and to the occurrence of superconductivity as reported in related Heusler alloys containing rare earth elements.