Large anisotropic magnetocaloric effect in ferromagnetic semimetal PrAlSi
Meng Lyu, Zhen Wang, K. Ramesh Kumar, Hengcan Zhao, Junsen Xiang, Peijie Sun
Abstract
We report on the large anisotropic magnetocaloric effect of PrAlSi, a ferromagnetic semimetal of current interest with a probable topologically nontrivial electronic structure. The maximum magnetic entropy change amounts to −ΔSM=22.6J/kgK near the Curie temperature TC=17.8K under a magnetic field change of μ0ΔH=5T along the magnetic easy c axis. A highly relevant feature is the small crystalline electric field splitting of the Pr3+ (J=4) multiplet, which appears to be comparable with the effective exchange interaction in the magnetic ordering. This leads to the full saturation moment of the Pr3+ ion in small fields and an accumulation of magnetic entropy in the vicinity of the magnetic ordering. The weakly first-order nature of the ferromagnetic transition and the subsequent reentrant spin-glass transitions below TC are features further enhancing the magnetocaloric effect. Given the strong magnetic anisotropy, a large rotating magnetocaloric effect becomes achievable in this material.