Critical behavior, universality class and magneto-transport properties of Ni2MnIn

Abstract Structural, magnetic, transport and critical properties of Ni2MnIn are investigated using the combined results of x-ray diffraction, magnetization and electrical resistivity. Ni2MnIn crystallizes in cubic structure with Fm-3m space group. The alloy is metallic and shows Fermi liquid behavior. Critical exponents are extracted using the modified Arrott’s plot (MAP), Kouvel-Fisher (KF) and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) methods and are found to be mutually consistent. The alloy belongs to the three-dimensional (3D)-Heisenberg universality class with short range magnetic interactions, as inferred from the exchange interaction J (r) ∼ r−4.91. The suppression of spin-fluctuations by the applied magnetic field results in negative magnetoresistance (MR) and negative magnetic entropy change. Collapse of normalized magnetic entropy curves and the normalized magnetoresistance curves onto a single universal curve confirms the second-order nature of the magnetic phase transition.