Crystal structure and magnetic anisotropy in the magnetic ordered phases of PrB6

We have studied the magnetization and the thermal expansion of PrB 6 in both C and IC phases. In the IC phase, the crystal is found to be nearly cubic. This is because the magnitude of av is different from site to site in the IC phase. In the C phase, the crystal is easily deformed into the diamond shaped one by a small external field such as a magnetic field or a uniaxial stress along the two-fold axis. This indicates the small AFQ interaction in PrB 6 . The magnetization exhibits the anisotropy, M > M > M in the IC phase and M > M > M in the C phase. The former is explained by a difference of the domain distribution for three field directions, i.e., the larger the population of the χ ⊥ configuration, the larger the magnitude of M . In the C phase, the planer type K x y domain state and the χ ⊥ configuration are realized for three magnetic field directions. For H ∥ and , the 1- k collinear magnetic structure is realized and the moment is rotated in ...