Ferrimagnetic phase in the metamagnet DyVO4

Abstract In the Ising antiferromagnet DyVO 4 a new intermediate ferrimagnetic phase has been found at the metamagnetic transition from the antiferromagnetic to the paramagnetic state below 1.27 K. Although this new phase extends only over a field range of about 1 mT, it is clearly seen in specific heat experiments since for crystals with finite demagnetising factor it produces additional mixed phases at the first order phase boundaries. The ferrimagnetic state is established by antiferromagnetic further-than-nearest neighbour interaction which is quite common in metamagnets with dipole interaction. The possibility of even more intermediate phases and the general problem of first order metamagnetic transitions is discussed.