Magnetic, magnetocaloric and magnetoresistance properties of Nd₇Pd₃

Magnetic, magnetocaloric and magnetoresistance properties of the intermetallic compound Nd₇Pd₃ have been investigated. It exhibits a first-order magnetic phase transition at its ferromagnetic ordering temperature (T_C = 34 K). Just above the T_C, the magnetization isotherms exhibit a metamagnetic transition from the paramagnetic to a ferromagnetic state. In the immediate vicinity of T_C, a field change of only 10 kOe leads to the giant magnetocaloric effect of 13  J mol⁻¹ K⁻¹. For a field change of 50 kOe a large magnetoresistance of ∼21% is observed near T_C. First-principles electronic structure calculations indicate that the first-order phase transition in Nd₇Pd₃ may originate from the peculiar nature of the density of states near the Fermi level.