Comparative study of the complex magnetic properties of RRu2X2 (R = rare earth; XSi,Ge)

Abstract The magnetic properties of RRu 2 X 2 compounds are characterized by long period commensurate and/or incommensurate structures, anisotropic multistep metamagnetic processes, and complex field-temperature phase diagrams. These properties originate from the competition between antagonistic RKKY interactions in the presence of magnetocrystalline anisotropy.