Anisotropic spin-glass-like and quasi-one-dimensional magnetic behaviour in an intermetallic compound, Tb2PdSi3

TL;DR

This study investigates the magnetic properties of Tb2PdSi3, revealing high-temperature quasi-one-dimensional magnetism and low-temperature anisotropic spin-glass-like behavior, which are unusual in metallic intermetallic compounds.

Contribution

It reports the discovery of quasi-low-dimensional magnetism and anisotropic spin-glass-like behavior in a stoichiometric intermetallic, phenomena typically not observed together in metallic systems.

Findings

Quasi-low-dimensional magnetism at high temperatures

Anisotropic spin-glass-like behavior below 10 K

Large frequency dependence of ac susceptibility peak

Abstract

We report temperature dependent ac susceptibility ($\chi$) measurements on a high quality single crystal of Tb$_2$PdSi$_3$, crystallizing in a AlB$_2$-derived hexagonal structure. This compound is found to exhibit features attributable to quasi-low-dimensional magnetism at high temperatures and {\it anisotropic} spin-glass-like behavior at low temperatures ($<$ 10 K) with an unusually large frequency dependence of peak temperature in ac $\chi$(T). This compound thus presents a novel situation in {\it metallic magnetism}, considering that the former phenomenon is normally encountered only among insulators, whereas the anisotropic spin-glass-like behavior, to our knowledge, has not been known in stoichiometric intermetallic compounds.