Crystal field in the CeAl3 heavy-fermion compound

An analysis of inelastic neutron scattering in the CeAl₃ heavy fermion compound is presented. Using single-crystal magnetic-susceptibility and inelastic neutron scattering data, an unambiguous solution for the set of parameters of the electric crystal field Hamiltonian is obtained: B ₂ ⁰ = (5.8 ± 0.2) × 10^?2 meV and B ₄ ⁰ = (2.3 ± 0.1) × 10^?2 meV. The energy level scheme for the ground-state multiplet of the Ce³⁺ ion in CeAl₃ consists of the ground level Γ₉?±3/2〉 and two doublets Γ₈?±5/2〉 and Γ₇?±1/2〉 having close energies of ～6.3 meV at a temperature of 20 K. As follows from comparing the crystal-field parameters in the RAl₃ series (R = Ce, Pr, Nd), the fact that the parameters A ₂ ⁰ 〈r ²〉 and A ₄ ⁰ 〈r ⁴〉 in CeAl₃ differ significantly in value from the respective parameters in PrAl₃ and NdAl₃ cannot be explained in terms of the lattice constants of these isostructural compounds being different but rather is due to the enhanced hybridization of the localized 4f electrons of cerium with conduction electrons.