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Abstract
A model of simultaneous magnetic and structural first-order transitions in antiferromagnets with a strong cubic magnetic anisotropy has been constructed on the basis of a synthesis of magnetic modified 6-state and 8-state Potts models and the theoretical model of structural phase transitions in cubic crystals. A revised scheme has been suggested for the derivation of possible magnetic structures in the fcc lattice with allowance for competing interactions between the nearest and next-nearest neighbors. A calculation of the temperature evolution of high-temperature diffuse magnetic scattering of neutrons has been carried out to show that the mechanism of a magnetic transition at the Néel point is caused by the transformation of diffuse magnetic scattering into magnetic Bragg peaks.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]