Elasticity Pheonomena during Spin Rotation inHoxTb1xFe2Cubic Laves Compounds

Abstract
The temperature dependence of the elastic moduli in HoxTb1xFe2 cubic Laves compounds has been investigated by means of an ultrasonic technique in the temperature region where spin rotation occurs. The composition-dependence minima in the elastic moduli reeal the boundary between the different directions of easy magnetization in these compounds. Results of ultrasonic measurements as a function of temperature and magnetic field are in satisfactory agreement with the theoretical spin-orientation diagram based on the one-ion model. The variation of the temperature derivatives of the elastic moduli at the spin-rotation temperatures is indicative of a first-order phase transition.