Magnetic moment formation at a dilute Ta impurity in RCo2 intermetallic compounds

Abstract In this work we study the formation of the local magnetic moments and the related magnetic hyperfine fields at a Ta impurity diluted on the R site of the RCo 2 intermetallic hosts (R= rare-earth elements). In order to calculate the local magnetic moment at a Ta impurity diluted in these intermetallics, we use a two band model, including the nearest-neighbor perturbation due to the translational invariance breaking introduced by the impurity. The calculated total hyperfine fields are in good agreement with the available experimental data.