Magnetic ordering in the rare-earth intermetallic compounds Tb2Pd2In and Ho2Pd2In

Abstract The low-temperature magnetic structures of the rare-earth intermetallics Tb 2 Pd 2 In and Ho 2 Pd 2 In have been studied by neutron powder diffraction. Both compounds exhibit a second-order magnetic phase transition at the Neel temperatures T N ≈33 and 8.5 K, respectively, with a propagation vector k =±( 1 4 , 1 4 , 1 2 ). Symmetry analysis shows that the magnetic structure can be described by cos-modulated magnetic moments that are aligned along the c -axis.