Search for magnetism in hcp ε-Fe

Abstract

We report the results of our recent experimental investigation which extends the search for magnetic ordering in the high‐pressure, hcp phase of iron (ε‐phase) to a temperature of 0.030 K. Mössbauer effect measurements were performed in the pressure range from atmospheric pressure to 21.5 GPa on a foil of natural iron (doped with ⁵⁷Co). Measurements were made of the properties of both the α‐ and ε‐phase constituents of the sample. No measurable magnetic hyperfine field was observed in the ε‐phase from any of the spectra at pressures as high as 21.5 GPa and temperatures as low as 0.030 K.