High pressure magnetic phase transitions in the quasi-2D ferromagnet, CeCrSb$_3$ investigated using designer diamond anvils*

Pressure tuning magnetic phase transitions is a powerful method of discovering new physical properties of materials. At ambient pressure, CeCrSb$_3$ undergoes ferromagnetic ordering at 115~K due to the Cr ions, followed by a gradual ferromagnetic alignment of the Ce moments between 48 and 18~K. The evolution of these magnetic transitions was investigated via electrical resistivity and ac magnetic susceptibility to pressures of 20~GPa using designer diamond anvils. The ferromagnetic ordering due to the Cr ions decreases at a rate of $dT_{Cr}/dP=$-1.75~K/GPa, while the onset of the Ce ferromagnetic ordered phase increases at a rate of $dT_{Ce}/dP = $3.6~K/GPa, followed by a sharp drop at $P_c=$11~GPa. In addition, the electrical resistivity reveals that a possible superconducting phase is found between 11~GPa$

*This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2008.MAR.L40.9