Abstract
M.Sc.
An experimental study on the magnetic properties of the (Cr86Ru14)1–x(V,Mn)x alloy system is reported in this thesis. The work focusses mainly on two aspects of the magnetic behaviour of this alloy system; firstly that of the base alloy Cr86Ru14 having a Ru concentration on the magnetic phase diagram of the Cr-Ru system that is close to a putative quantum critical point (QCP) (xc ≈ 17 at.% Ru), and secondly, of the effects of tuning this base alloy towards (V-addition) or away (Mn-addition) from the QCP.
For the Cr86Ru14 base alloy, measurements of the electrical resistivity and elastic constants as functions of temperature and pressure are reported. These are supplemented by thermal expansion and neutron diffraction measurements as a function of temperature through the Néel transition temperature, TN.