XMCD study of UCu2P2 at high pressure

The Zintl phase UCu2P2 has record high ferromagnetic ordering temperature TC = 216 K among U-based compounds, which further increases with increasing pressure. Electrical resistivity shows that it is a semi metal. Ab initio calculations reveal that it is likely also a half-metal with spin-up electrons only at the Fermi level.
The aim of the proposal is two-fold: firstly, to determine the spin and orbital component of the U moments, which will allow to determine which of existing theoretical approaches is most adequate. Secondly, the variations of the U moments under pressure will be revealed. So far the TC variations were deduced from electrical resistivity and ac susceptibility; dc magnetization at extreme pressures is not available. Both goals can be achieved by means of the XMCD studies.