Observation of spontaneous magnetization jump and field-induced irreversibility in Nd5Ge3

TL;DR

This study reports sharp magnetization jumps and irreversibility in Nd5Ge3, revealing strong coupling among spin, electronic, and lattice states, with implications for understanding magnetic phase metastability.

Contribution

It provides new experimental evidence of spontaneous and field-induced magnetization jumps and irreversibility in Nd5Ge3, highlighting magneto-structural coupling and phase metastability.

Findings

Sharp magnetization jumps observed at low temperatures

Field-induced irreversibility in magnetization, resistivity, and heat capacity

Growth of ferromagnetic phase indicating metastability

Abstract

We report the observation of spontaneous and ultra-sharp jumps in the low temperature magnetization isotherms of polycrystalline Nd5Ge3. Field-induced and ultra-sharp jumps are also seen in resistivity and heat capacity data. These jumps are accompanied by field-induced irreversibilities. The consistency seen in these three data clearly shows that the spin, electronic and lattice states are strongly coupled. Time-induced growth of the ferromagnetic phase is observed at a constant field and temperature, implying the metastability of the magnetic phase in the low field region. Various experimental findings point towards a strong field-induced magneto-structural irreversibility in this compound.