Anomalous magnetic transition and thermomagnetic irreversibility in polycrystalline neodymium

An anomalous magnetic transition and thermomagnetic irreversibility (TMI) observed in high-resolution DC-magnetisation measurements on polycrystalline neodymium sample above its antiferromagnetic transition temperature, TN≈20 K is reported. We have studied the dependence of both the anomalous magnetic transition and TMI on applied field in as-prepared as well as annealed samples. Possible explanations of these interesting behaviors are discussed.