LAUSR

Abstract Magnetic nature of Gd 3 Co is investigated using detailed measurements of temperature and field dependent magnetization. The antiferromagnetic phase is field-instable due to prevailing ferromagnetic exchange correlations above Neel temperature T N ∼ 130 K . Below T N , with gradually increasing magnetic fields, the compound undergoes a quasi-first order phase transition from AFM to spin-flop over region and eventually acquires ferromagnetic phase in higher fields. Further the point at which the quasi-first order transition ends and second order transition sets in is the tricritical point, T TCP ∼ 125.6 K , H TCP ∼ 4.4 kOe .