Second order magnetic phase transition and scaling analysis in iron doped manganite La0.7Ca0.3Mn1-xFexO3 compounds

We investigated magnetic properties of La0.7Ca0.3Mn1-xFexO3 (x=0.09 and 0.11) compounds in terms of isothermal magnetization analysis and scaling behavior with various critical exponents. From the Landau theory of magnetic phase transition, we found that the paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition in La0.7Ca0.3Mn1-xFexO3 (x=0.09 and 0.11) compounds is the type of second order magnetic transition (SOMT), which contrary to the first order magnetic transition (FOMT) for low Fe doped compounds (x < 0.09) in previous reports. When we investigate the critical behavior of the compounds near T=T-c by the modified Ai rott plot, Kouvel-Fisher plots, and critical isothermal analysis, the estimated critical exponents beta, gamma, and delta are in between the theoretically predicted values for three-dimensional Heisenberg and mean-held interaction models, It is noteworthy that the scaling relations are obeyed in terms of renormalization magnetization m=epsilon(-beta) M(H,epsilon) and renormalized held h=vertical bar epsilon vertical bar(beta+gamma) H. Temperature-dependent effective exponents beta(eff) and gamma(eff) correspond to the ones of disordered ferromagnets. It is shown that the magnetic state of the compounds is not fully described by the conventional localized-spin interaction model because the ferromagnetic interaction has itinerant character by increasing Fe-doping concentration. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.