Suppression of ferromagnetism in the La(V x Cr 1−x )Sb 3 system.

To explore the possibility of quantum phase transitions and even quantum criticality in LaCrSbbased compounds, we performed measurements under pressure as well as a vanadium substitution study. The Curie temperature of LaCrSbwas found to be invariant under pressure. Although pressure was not able to suppress the ferromagnetism, chemical substitution was used as another parameter to tune the magnetism. We grew La(VCr)Sb(x= 0–1.0) single crystals and studied the series by measurements of temperature- and field-dependent magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, resistivity and specific heat. Ferromagnetism has been observed for, and the system manifests a strong anisotropy in its ordered state. The Curie temperature decreases monotonically as theVconcentration increases. For, the system enters a new magnetic state at low temperatures, and no magnetic ordering above 1.8 K can be observed for. The effective moment/Cr varies only slightly as theVconcentration increases, from 3.9for= 0 to 2.9for= 0.88. Features related to quantum criticality have not been observed in the La(VCr)Sbsystem. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]