Magnetic incommensurability, short-range correlations, and properties ofHo7Rh3

The crystal structure, thermal properties, and magnetic state of the rare-earth intermetallic compound ${\mathrm{Ho}}₇{\mathrm{Rh}}₃$ was studied using the measurements of the AC and DC magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat and thermal expansion, as well as by neutron and synchrotron powder diffraction. Below the N\'eel temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{N}}=32$ K, an incommensurate antiferromagnetic (AFM) structure of the spin density wave (SDW) type was observed, described by the magnetic superspace group $Cmc{2}_1.{1}^{\ensuremath{'}}(00g)0sss$ and the propagation vector ${\mathbf{k}}_{\mathrm{IC}}=(0\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}0\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}0.389)$. Further cooling leads to the spin reorientation transition and squaring-up transformation of the SDW magnetic structure below ${T}_t1=22$ K. The spin reorientation transition is accompanied by the emergence of a ferromagnetic component in the incommensurate magnetic structure upon cooling below ${T}_t2=9$ K. Using neutron diffraction, the existence of a short-range antiferromagnetic order was revealed up to temperatures twice as high as ${T}_{\mathrm{N}}$. These short-range AFM correlations were found to affect the magnetic susceptibility and thermal expansion, while the crystal structure retains its hexagonal symmetry below and above the N\'eel temperature.