Structural, electronic, magnetic, and magnetocaloric properties in metallic antiperovskite compound Mn3GaC
Highlights: • We have studied the magnetocaloric effect of the metallic antiperovskite compound Mn{sub 3}GaC. • We used the ab-initio calculations, the Monte Carlo simulations and mean field theory. • A second-order ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition about T{sub C} ∼ 249 K. • The magnetic moment and the exchange coupling interactions are calculated. - Abstract: The structural, electronic, magnetic, and magnetocaloric properties of the metallic antiperovskite compound Mn{sub 3}GaC were investigated using several theoretical methods such as: First principle calculations, Monte Carlo simulations and mean field theory. The metallic antiperovskite compound Mn{sub 3}GaC exhibits a second-order ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition around T{sub C} = 249 K. Using the first principle calculations, the magnetic moment and the exchange coupling interactions values are 1.37 μ{sub B} and J{sub 1} = 35.78meV, J{sub 2} = 40.16meV, respectively. The total magnetization, the susceptibility and the specific heat of this compound are calculated. The critical temperature obtained is in good agreement with the experimental results. Obviously, the large MCE with no hysteresis loss is obtained around T{sub C}. The maximum values of the magnetic entropy change (ΔS{sub mag}), adiabatic temperature change (ΔT{sub ad}) and the relative cooling power (RCP) are 13.41 J/kg.K, 15.96 K, 748 J/kg respectively, under applied an external magnetic field of h = 5.0 T.