High field magnetism and magnetoacoustics in UCu_0.95Ge

Studies of magnetic and magneto-acoustic characteristics of the intermetallic compound UCu_0.95Ge with antiferromagnetic ground state have been performed on single crystals in pulsed magnetic fields up to 64 T applied along the main axes. Along the a axis, a first-order phase transition has been observed at 61 T. For the field applied along the c axis, the first-order phase transition occurs at a much lower magnetic field (38 T). In both directions, the magnetization trends to saturate at 1.35 µ_B per formula unit. These field-induced transitions as well as the spontaneous transition at the magnetic ordering at T_N = 48 K are accompanied by pronounced anomalies in the sound velocity and sound attenuation. The field-temperature phase diagrams are constructed for both directions of the magnetic field. The results of our theoretical analysis within the framework of the mean-field approximation qualitatively agree with the observed behavior of magnetic and magneto-acoustic characteristics of UCu_0.95Ge.