Magnetocrystalline anisotropy and antiferromagnetic phase transition in PrRh$_{2}$Si$_{2}$

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic and transport properties of PrRh₂Si₂ single crystals, revealing antiferromagnetic order at 68 K, strong uniaxial anisotropy, and a pressure-induced increase in transition temperature.

Contribution

It reports the first detailed magnetic and transport characterization of PrRh₂Si₂, highlighting its high Néel temperature and anisotropic magnetic behavior under pressure.

Findings

Antiferromagnetic order below 68 K

Strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy

Néel temperature increases with pressure

Abstract

We present magnetic and transport properties of PrRh$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ single crystals which exhibit antiferromagnetic order below T$_{N}$ = 68 K. Well defined anomalies due to magnetic phase transition are observed in magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, and specific heat data. The T$_{N}$ of 68 K for PrRh$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ is much higher than 5.4 K expected on the basis of de-Gennes scaling. The magnetic susceptibility data reveal strong uniaxial anisotropy in this compound similar to that of PrCo$_{2}$Si$_{2}$. With increasing pressure T$_{N}$ increases monotonically up to T$_N$ = 71.5 K at 22.5 kbar.