Magnetostriction of Rare Earth Metals Studied by x-ray diffraction technique

摘要

The magnetostriction of the rare earth metals Dy, Ho, and Er havebeen studied by X-ray diffraction under a magnetic field in the c-plane of the hcpcrystal. Continuous and discontinuous changes of the c-lattice parameteraccompanying magnetic phase transitions have been observed, and satellitereflections caused by the lattice modulation have been found in the distortedhelix and helifan phases. In Er, the 2nd- and 4th-order satellites appeared below4.5 T at 35 K, and the 6th-order satellite has been observed above 4.5 T in addi-tion to the 2nd- and 4th-order satellites. The results for Dy, Ho, and Er can beexplained by using the magneto-elastic effect and the magnetic structurecalculated by the self-consistent mean field method, except for the result in thehigh magnetic field region of Er above 4.5 T, where a strongly distorted fanmagnetic structure should be assumed to explain the presence of the 6th-ordersatellite of the lattice modulation.