Hyperfine interactions in Sc1−x YxFe2 cubic Laves alloys

Abstract

Effects of hybridization of 3d bands of iron with 3d bands of scandium and 4d bands of yttrium in Sc1−xYxFe2 cubic Laves alloys (0≤x≤1) are studied by the nuclear magnetic resonance method. The concentration dependences of the lattice parameters a, saturation magnetization σ, and hyperfine fields at the 57Fe, 45Sc, and 89Y nuclei—as well as the 27Al impurity nuclei, whose atoms substitute iron atoms in the lattices of these alloys—are measured. The “local” and “induced” contributions to hyperfine fields at the 57Fe nuclei are separated and the magnetic moments at iron atoms are estimated. It is found that the hybridization effect leads to the formation of magnetic moments at Sc and Y atoms (whose direction is opposite to the direction of the magnetic moment at iron atoms) and is responsible for the ferrimagnetic structure in Sc1−xYxFe2 alloys.