Magnetic order in RCr

The magnetic structure and ordering temperatures of three intermetallic compounds which crystallize in the tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure, TbCr2Si2, HoCr2Si2 and ErCr2Si2, have been determined by neutron diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and magnetization measurements. The Cr-sublattice orders anti-ferromagnetically with ${\rm N}$éel temperatures of 758 K for TbCr2Si2, 718 K for HoCr2Si2 and 692 K for ErCr2Si2. Chromium atoms located at 4d crystallographic sites are aligned anti-parallel along the c-axis, with G$_{Z}^{ }$Cr magnetic modes. In contrast with metallic bcc Cr, the refined room temperature value of the ordered Cr moment is anomalously large for all three compounds. No long range magnetic order of the R sublattice in TbCr2Si2 and HoCr2Si2 is observed, whilst the Er sublattice in ErCr2Si2 orders independently of the Cr sublattice below 2.4 K with moments ferromagnetically aligned in the basal plane