Giant Volume Magnetostriction Caused by Itinerant Electron Metamagnetic Transition and Pronounced Invar Effects in La(Fe_xSi_(1-x))_(13) Compounds

A first-order itinerant electron metamagnetic (IEM) transition above the Curie temperature Tc for ferromagnetic La(Fe_xSi_1-x)13 compounds has been confirmed by applying magnetic field. The volume change just above T_C for x=0.88 is huge of about 1.5%, which is caused by a large magnetic moment induced by the IEM transition. These compounds have a possibility for practical applications as giant magnetostrictive materials. Pronounced Invar effects bring about a negative thermal expansion below TC, closely correlated with the negative mode-mode coupling among spin fluctuations.