Metamagnetic transition in Ce(Fe_0.96Al_0.04)₂: a dc magnetization study

We present results of a dc magnetization study which show interesting thermomagnetic history effects across the antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic transition in Ce(Fe_0.96Al_0.04)₂ pseudobinary alloy. Specifically, we observe (i) the degree of ZFC/FC irreversibility rising with increasing field; (ii) the virgin curve lying outside the envelope M-H curve. Some of the key results are supported by magneto-transport measurements. We argue that these effects are quite different from the characteristics seen in spin glasses or in hard ferromagnets. They can be understood in terms of kinetic arrest of a first-order transition.