Magnetic anisotropy as an evidence of local magnetic moments in paramagnetic phase of Cr-V alloys

Chromium-rich Cr-V alloys exhibit three phases. The paramagnetic phase (P) above Néel temperature (TN), a transverse polarization spin-density-wave (SDW) phase (AF1) below TN and above the spin–flip temperature (TSF), when the longitudinal polarization SDW phase (AF2) is formed. In the paramagnetic phase, Cr exhibit a Pauli susceptibility with weak temperature dependence. Otherwise, the introduction of small amounts of V in Cr not only decreases TN continuously, but also induces a Curie-Weiss behavior (CW) that we associate with local magnetic moments. This behavior is limited up to 0.67%V and magnetic fields of 15 kOe and was also observed for different Cr alloys. The origin of local magnetic moments has been associated with the establishment of local spin-density waves (LSDW) around V impurities. In this work, we presented an investigation of the effects of local magnetic moments in antiferromagnetic phases in Cr-V alloys. The magnetic susceptibility measurements around the spin–flip transition suggest that the local-SDW induces the strong magnetic anisotropy in the long-range order of the spin-density wave as it is revealed in the thermomagnetic results.