Neutron diffraction study of a Kondo ferromagnet with competing magnetic behaviours

Unlike their antiferromagnetic counterparts, the application of pressure to a Kondo ferromagnet rarely suppresses the Curie temperature to a quantum critical point, but instead there is often a change of ground state to an antiferromagnetic or spin-glass type phase. We propose to perform powder neutron diffraction measurements of a Ce-based Kondo ferromagnet using the WISH diffractometer. The magnetic ground state of this compound becomes antiferromagnetic under applied pressure, and there are indications of competing magnetic behaviours at ambient pressure. We aim to characterize the magnetic ground state at ambient pressure, and especially look for evidence of either an antiferromagnetic ordered component or short-range antiferromagnetic correlations at low temperatures. These results can help us gain a microscopic understanding of the competition and coexistence of these different magnetic phases, which is important for understanding their pressure evolution, as well as for the broader understanding of ferromagnetic quantum phase transitions.