Microscopic theory of magnetic phase transitions inHoNi2B2C

A. Amici, P. Thalmeier
1998 Physical Review B (Condensed Matter)  
We present a microscopic theory for the low temperature metamagnetic phase diagram of HoNi_2B_2C that agrees well with experiments.For the same model we determined the zero field ground state as a function of temperature and find the c-axis commensurate to incommensurate transition in the expected temperature range. The complex behaviour of the system originates from the competition between the crystalline electric field and the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction, whose effective form is
more » ... obtained. No essential influence of superconductivity has to be invoked to understand the magnetic phase diagram of this material.
doi:10.1103/physrevb.57.10684 fatcat:sxvsqeshq5bxhp2aaafqh4g7fy