Magnetic effects of atomic short-range order on PdMn alloys

The magnetic properties of a material are affected by the type of atomic or der present in the sample. In particular, the atoms of one kind change thei r magnetic behavior depending on the composition of its first-neighbor shel l. The analysis of magnetic samples by neutron diffuse scattering allows us to separate the atomic short-range order component from the magnetic compo nent, but simultaneously we can study the correlations that affect the magn etic properties of materials. Using neutron-scattering data, we have analyz ed the atomic short-range order in several samples where the host is Pd and the impurity is Mn. This analysis allows us to see the effects that this o rder has on the magnetic properties. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics . [S0021-8979(99)57308-8].