Magnetic relaxation dynamics in thermally arrested Cr-modified Mn2Sb

The magnetic phase transitions and their thermal transformation arrest (TTA) behavior of Cr-substituted Mn2Sb were investigated. Mn1.92Cr0.08Sb showed the first-order magnetic transition between antiferromagnetic (AFM) and ferrimagnetic (FRI) state. The TTA phenomenon was observed in field-cooling process under magnetic field of μ0H ≥ 4 T. The relaxation process from the arrested FRI to AFM state was explained by stretched exponential function. As decreasing temperature, the magnetic relaxation changed from Arrhenius-type to non-Arrhenius ones. The characteristic relaxation time was evaluated to be the order of 105 ∼ 106 s, which indicated indeed arresting of the magnetic transition. During the process, the decrease in the magnetization due to the relaxation changed into an increase with the thermal fluctuation of ∼1%. These relaxation behaviors are explained by the density and the frequency of the reversal of triple-layered magnetic moments.