Investigations of the complex behavior of the magnetization of manganese arsenide thin films due to defects induced by irradiation of slow heavy ions are presented. In addition to the thermal hysteresis suppression already highlighted in M. Trassinelli et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 081906 (2014), we report here on new local magnetic features recorded by a magnetic force microscope at different temperatures close to the characteristic sample phase transition. Complementary measurements of the global magnetization measurements in different conditions (applied magnetic field and temperatures) enable to complete the film characterization. The obtained results suggest that the ion bombardment produces regions where the local mechanical constraints are significantly different from the average, promoting the local presence of magneto-structural phases far from the equilibrium. These regions could be responsible for the thermal hysteresis suppression previously reported, irradiation-induced defects acting as seeds in the phase transition.
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