Electronic structure and magnetic properties of amorphous YCo2

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Abstract
The electronic density of states of amorphous YCo2 is calculated in the tight-binding d-band model. The atomic structure is constructed by a dense random packing of hard spheres relaxed by the Morse potential. The effects of hybridisation of the d bands between Y and Co, of the local environment of each atom and of the distance between Y atoms on the electronic structure are studied, and it is found that the local-environment effect is the most significant. By making use of the value of the molecular field coefficient in crystalline YCo2, it is found that amorphous YCo2 becomes ferromagnetic. The magnetic moment on a Co atom, the low-temperature specific heat coefficient and the high-field spin susceptibility are calculated and compared with the experimental results.