Antiferromagnetism in the Ho₅Os₄Ge₁₀ system

Abstract

In this paper, we report ac and dc susceptibility, resistivity, and heat capacity studies of the antiferromagnet Ho₅Os₄Ge₁₀. We find that this compound undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at 2.1 K. The effective magnetic moment is found to be 10.85µ_B, which is slightly higher than the free-ion value for the holmium atom. The resistivity [ρ(T)] shows unusual linear temperature dependence from 10 to 50 K. Further, the heat-capacity data show an anomaly around 6 K, which is well above the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature. Absence of an anomaly in the magnetic susceptibility and a change of slope of ρ(T) around this temperature suggest a possible structural transformation in this compound although confirmation of this transformation requires further study.