Role of random magnetic anisotropy on the valence, magnetocaloric and resistivity properties in a hexagonal SmNiSi compound.

In this work, we report the effect of random magnetic anisotropy (RMA) on the valence, magnetocaloric and resistivity properties in a glassy intermetallic material SmNiSi. On the basis of detailed studies on the valence band and core level electronic structure, we have established that both the Sm and Sm ions are present in the system, suggesting the compound to be of mixed valence in nature. The significant observation of positive magnetic entropy change in zero-field cooled measurement has been argued due to the presence of RMA that develops due to local electronic environmental variations between the rare-earth ions in the system. The quantum interference effect caused by the elastic electron-electron interaction is responsible for the resistivity upturn at low-temperature for this disordered metallic conductor.