Heavy fermion behaviour of the nonmagnetic CeCu4Al compound

We present measurements of the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity, the thermopower and the specific heat of the hexagonal compound CeCu₄Al. At high temperatures, the electrical resistivity is characterized by a nearly temperature independent behaviour, followed by a continuous increase below 100K. No maximum has been found down to 1.7 K. The thermopower shows a positive maximum at about 30 K. As in CeCu₆ no negative values are observable in the range from 4.2 K up to a room temperature. The specific heat data between 7 and 15 K reveal a γ value around 280 mJ mol^-1 K^-2. Below this temperature range the specific heat c_p/T shows a rapid rise and crosses the value of 1 J mol^-1 K^-2 at about 1.45 K.     

Effect of cation doping on low-temperature specific heat of LaMnO3 manganite

We have investigated the thermodynamic properties of perovskite manganite LaMnO₃, the parent compound of colossal magnetoresistive manganites, with the Ca²⁺ doping at the A-site. As strong electron-phonon interactions are present in these compounds, the lattice part of the specific heat deserves proper attention. We have described the temperature dependence of the lattice contribution to the specific heat at constant volume (C_v(lattice)) of La_1−xCa_xMnO₃ (x=0.125, 0.175, 0.25, 0.35, 0.50, 0.67, 0.75) as a function of temperature (1 K–20 K) by means of a rigid ion model (RIM).The trends of specific heat variations with temperature are almost similar at all the composition. The Debye temperatures obtained from the lattice contributions are found to be in somewhat closer agreement with the experimental data. The specific heat values revealed by using RIM are in closer agreement with the available experimental data, particularly at low temperatures for some concentrations (x) of La_1−xCa_xMnO₃. The theoretical results at higher temperatures can be improved by including the effects of the charge ordering, van der Waals attraction and anharmonicity in the framework of RIM.     

Specific heat of a Kondo superconductor: (La, Ce) Al2

The specific heat of LaAl₂ and (La_1-xCe_x)Al₂ (x ? 0.0064) has been measured between 0.3 and 5 K, both in the superconducting and in the normal state. For all samples the same values for the Debye temperature as well as for the electronic specific heat coefficient have been determined. LaAl₂ shows an excellent BCS behavior. A remarkable excess specific heat at low temperatures due to the Kondo effect has been observed for all superconducting as well as for the normal conducting (La_1-xCe_x) Al₂ alloys. The specific heat jump ΔC at T_c depressed rapidly with increasing Ce concentration, allows the Kondo temperature T_K ? 1 K to be determined. ΔC vanishes at finite temperatures.     

Specific heat of pure graphite in the ultra-quantum limit region

We calculate the electronic specific heat of pure graphite in the ultraquantum limit region for fields between 60 and 200 kG, at very low temperatures, using the Slonczewski-Weiss band model with values of the energy-band parameters which are in agreement with recent magneto-reflection experiments. The effect of trigonal warping of the Fermi surfaces associated with the parameter γ₃ is neglected in the calculation. Our results show that, for most of the range of fields considered, the electronic specific heat C is very nearly proportional to both the magnetic field strength H and the temperature T, according to the relation C ≈ αHT with a coefficient α of about 0.091 μJ/g-at. K²kG. The results also indicate that, at the upper end of the magnetic field range, the C(H) curves, at a given T, depart progressively, though slightly, from linearity with increasing H.     

Specific heat of Na1−x V2O5 single crystals

Temperature dependences of the specific heat C and the magnetic susceptibility χ of Na_1?x V₂O₅ single crystals (x=0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04) are studied. In NaV₂O₅, the transition to the spin-gap state (T _c =34 K) is accompanied by a sharp decrease in χ, while C exhibits a λ-shaped anomaly. At low temperatures, the specific heat of NaV₂O₅ is approximated by the sum of phonon ～T ³ and magnon ～exp(?Δ/T) contributions, which makes it possible to estimate the Debye temperature Θ_D=336 K and the gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum Δ=112 K. With the departure from stoichiometry, the anomalies observed in the behavior of χ and C are spread and shifted to lower temperatures. The low-temperature specific heat of nonstoichiometric samples is determined by the sum of phonon and magnon components and the contribution due to the presence of defects. The values of magnetic entropy characterizing the phase transitions in Na_1?x V₂O₅ are calculated.     

The heat capacities of arsenic,phosphorous and GexSe1−x glasses below 1 K

The heat capacities of amorphous arsenic and phosphorous have been measured down to 0.1 K. Both glasses have heat capacities larger than the values calculated from the sound velocities, but in a-As the magnitude of the excess is significantly less than in vitreous silica. Ge_xSe_1?x glasses also show an excess heat capacity below 1 K, but in contrast to the behavior at higher temperatures the results do not vary systematically with composition.     

Specific heat of the semiconducting layered compound SnSe2 at low temperatures

The specific heat of the layer compound semiconductor tin diselenide SnSe₂ has been measured in the temperature range from 2.7 to 280 K. In this range, the overall temperature dependence of the specific heat is dominated by the lattice contribution, which yields a limiting Debye characteristic temperature at absolute zero θ_D (0) = 140 ± 2K. The increase in the specific heat at low temperatures is more gradual than what would be expected for a simple Debye solid, and reflects the quasi-two dimensional layer structure of this compound.     

Field and temperature dependences of the specific heat of the La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 superconductor

This paper reports on the temperature and field dependences of the specific heat of high-quality La_1.85Sr_0.15CuO₄ single crystals carried out at low temperatures in magnetic fields of up to 8 T for two magnetic field orientations, namely, along the [100] and [110] crystallographic axes. The field dependence of the electronic density of states (DOS) was found to be anisotropic for different magnetic field orientations in the a–b plane, with the electronic density being the lowest along the a axis (for H ∥ [100]) and maximum for the field inclined at 45° to the a axis (for H ∥ [110]). Electronic specific heat in a magnetic field was observed to depend linearly on temperature T and nonlinearly on the magnetic field H: C _DOS=bTH ^1/2. In a zero field, the electronic specific heat grows quadratically with temperature as C _DOS=αT ². Estimation of the maximum superconducting gap width from the experimentally determined values of the α coefficient of T ² and of the electronic DOS in the normal state yields Δ ₀=300 K. The observed features indicate that La_1.85Sr_0.15CuO₄ is a superconductor with d symmetry of the order parameter.     

Magnetocaloric properties of LaFe13−x−yCoxSiy and commercial grade Gd

The magnetocaloric properties of three samples of LaFe_13−x−yCo_xSi_y have been measured and compared to measurements of commercial grade Gd. The samples have (x=0.86, y=1.08), (x=0.94, y=1.01) and (x=0.97, y=1.07) yielding Curie temperatures in the range 276-288 K. The magnetization, specific heat capacity and adiabatic temperature change have been measured over a broad temperature interval. Importantly, all measurements were corrected for demagnetization, allowing the data to be directly compared. In an internal field of 1 T the maximum specific entropy changes were 6.2, 5.1 and 5.0 J/kg K, the specific heat capacities were 910, 840 and 835 J/kg K and the adiabatic temperature changes were 2.3, 2.1 and 2.1 K for the three LaFeCoSi samples respectively. For Gd in an internal field of 1 T the maximum specific entropy change was 3.1 J/kg K, the specific heat capacity was 340 J/kg K and the adiabatic temperature change was 3.3 K. The adiabatic temperature change was also calculated from the measured values of the specific heat capacity and specific magnetization and compared to the directly measured values. In general an excellent agreement was seen.     

Low temperature thermodynamical properties of ErCu2Si2

ErCu₂Si₂ crystallises in the tetragonal ThCr₂Si₂-type crystal structure. In this paper results of magnetometric, electrical transport, specific heat as well as neutron diffraction are reported. Results of electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements performed at low temperature yield existence of magnetic ordering roughly at 1.3 K. These results are in concert with neutron diffraction measurements, which reveal simple antiferromagnetic ordering between 0.47 and 1.00 K. At temperatures ranging from 1.00 up to 1.50 K an additional incommensurate magnetic structure was observed. The propagation vector k=(0;0;0.074) was proposed to describe magnetic reflections within the amplitude modulated magnetic structure. Basing on specific heat studies the crystal field levels splitting scheme and magnetic entropy were calculated.     

Specific heat of pure graphite in the ultra-quantum limit region

We calculate the electronic specific heat of pure graphite in the ultraquantum limit region for fields between 60 and 200 kG, at very low temperatures, using the Slonczewski-Weiss band model with values of the energy-band parameters which are in agreement with recent magneto-replection experiments. The effect of trigonal warping of the Fermi surfaces associated with the parameter γ₃ is neglected in the calculation. Our results show that, for most of the range of fields considered, the electronic specific heat C is very nearly proportional to both the magnetic field strength H and the temperature T, according to the relation C ≈ αHT with a coefficient α of about 0.091 μJ/g-at. K²kG. The results also indicate that, at the upper end of the magnetic field range, the C(H) curves, at a given T, depart slightly and progressively from linearity with increasing H, essentially as a result of the variation of the Fermi energy with magnetic field.     

Low temperature elastic constants and Debye temperature of NbO2

The transit times of ultrasonic waves have been measured in single crystal NbO₂ from 295 K down to 1.5 K for quasilongitudinal and shear waves propagating in the [100] direction and down to 160 K for eight other waves. Values are obtained for the C₄₄ elastic constant and for an elastic constant combination which is approximately equal to C₁₁ for temperatures down to 1.5 K and for C₁₁, C₁₂, C₁₃, C₁₆, C₃₃, and C₆₆ down to 160 K. These results are used to deduce 0 K values for the elastic constants and an elastic Debye temperature of 596 ± 7 K at 1.5 K. The acoustic mode heat capacity calculated from the latter is significantly smaller than the heat capacity measured by Wenger and Keesom at low temperatures. Following Wenger and Keesom, the difference is attributed to phasons (excitations involving the phase modulation of charge density waves). An average velocity is deduced for the phasons.     

The critical specific heat of a glassy ferromagnet

Using standard ac calorimetry, we have measured the specific heat of the amorphous ferromagnet Fe₇₅P₁₅C₁₀ in the neighborhood of its Curie temperature T_C ? 600 K. Even though this material is structurally disordered, a sharp lambda-like cusp was observed, typical of a pure crystalline substance. We report the first determination of the critical specific heat exponent α = δ′ = -.18 ± .04 and the amplitude ratio A⁺/A^- = 1.2 ± .3 for an amorphous ferromagnet and find that these values are typical of a Heisenberg system. Our results are in agreement with recent renormalization group calculations which indicate that the fixed point which characterizes the critical behavior will be stable against the addition of disorder to the ordered system if α < 0.     

Specific heat of dysprosium gallium garnet between 37 mK and 2 K

The specific heat of a single crystal of dysprosium gallium garnet (Dy GaG) has been measured between 37 mK and 2 K using a double-stage demagnetization cryostat. An antiferromagnetic ordering occurs at T_N = 0.373 K. The value of the entropy at 2 K indicates that the ground state is a Kramers doublet. At lower temperatures, a hyperfine contribution is seen. The anomalously large specific heat observed above 0.4 K is interpreted in terms of the lambda-anomaly tail and a short range contribution with a rounded maximum at about 0.7 K.     

Thermodynamics of a Magnetic Transition in MnS<Subscript>2</Subscript> at High Pressures

The behavior of the specific heat of MnS₂ at high pressures has been studied. A significant increase in the transition temperature T_N to an antiferromagnetic state with the pressure from 48.2 K at atmospheric pressure to 76 K at a pressure of 5.3 GPa has been revealed. The initial pressure derivative is dT _N /dP = 4.83 K/GPa. It has been found that the parameter α = d(logT _N )/d(logV ) = ?6.6 ± 0.1 is significantly different from the value α = ?10/3 ≈ ?3.3 (Bloch relation), which is typical of numerous antiferromagnetic insulators—transition- metal oxides and fluorides. The volume jump at the magnetic transition point has been estimated. The necessity of direct dilatometric measurements of the volume has been justified.     

Specific heat of La(Fe<Subscript>0.873</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.007</Subscript>Al<Subscript>0.12</Subscript>)<Subscript>13</Subscript> compound in antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic states

The low-temperature specific heat C _p of La(Fe_0.873Co_0.007Al_0.12)₁₃ compound has been measured in two states: (i) antiferromagnetic (AFM) with a Néel temperature of T _N = 192 K and (ii) ferromagnetic (FM). The FM order appears at T = 4.2 K in a sample exposed to an external magnetic field with induction B _C ≥ 2.5 T and is retained for a long time in a zero field at temperatures up to T*_C = 23 K. The coefficient γ_FM in the low-temperature specific heat C = γT + βT ³ in the FM state differs quite insignificantly from that (γ_AFM) in the AFM state. Contributions to the low-temperature specific heat, which are related to a change in the elastic and magnetoelastic energy caused by magnetostrictive deformations, are considered.     

Molecular motion in hydroquinone hydrogen chloride clathrate compound

Heat capacities of [C₆H₄(OH)₂]₃·(HCl)_x with x=0.68 and 0.75 were measured from 1 to 15 K. Weak anomalies were found at 7 and 11 K, respectively. The rotational heat capacities of the hydrogen chloride molecules in the clathrate cavities were obtained by subtracting heat capacities due to the host lattice and the rattling motion of the guest molecules from the experimental values. The rotational heat capacity of the hydrogen chloride of the system with x = 0.68 agreed with the free rotational heat capacity of the gaseous hydrogen chloride with the modified moment of inertia I = 3.29 × 10^?47kgm² below 8 K. The dielectric constant of the system with x = 0.56 obeyed the Curie-Weiss law above 30 K. These results showed that the hydrogen chloride molecules in the clathrate cavities execute modified free rotation at low temperatures.     

Transport characteristics of phonons and the specific heat of Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>:ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> solid solution single crystals

The temperature dependences of the specific heat and transport characteristics of phonons in single crystals of yttrium-stabilized zirconium dioxide Y₂O₃:ZrO₂ solid solutions have been studied. It has been shown that the temperature dependences of the specific heat at T > 5 K are almost identical at the degree of stabilization of a solid solution with an Y₂O₃ content of 5–20 mol %. Differences in the temperature dependences of the specific heat of samples from different sources at T < 5 K are due to the presence of low-energy two-level systems. The features of the transport characteristics of thermal phonons at liquid helium temperatures reflect not only the presence of two-level systems but also the scattering of phonons on low-dimensional domains of another phase coherently conjugate to the main phase of the Y₂O₃:ZrO₂ solid solution.     

Low temperature heat capacity and magnetic study of the Al80Mn20 icosahedral alloy

Low temperature heat capacity and magnetization measurements are reported for the Al₈₀Mn₂₀ alloy in the quasicrystalline icosahedral phase. The heat capacity, which was measured for temperatures ranging from 0.5 to 5.0 K and magnetic fields up to 11.7 kOe, shows a broad magnetic contribution around 1.0 K. The linear electronic contribution does not indicate an anomalously high density-of-states at the Fermi energy as predicted theoretically for quasicrystalline systems. The d.c. magnetization, which was measured from 2.0 to 300 K and with magnetic fields up to 50 kOe, indicates an effective number of one 11 μ_B localized magnetic moment for approximately every 100 Mn atoms. The low field susceptibility follows the Curie-Weiss law for temperatures ≧ 10 K, while a spin-glass-like ordering is observed at low temperatures.     

The specific heat of potassium holmium double tungstate

The results of measurements of thermal properties (specific heat) of potassium holmium double tungstate KHo(WO₄)₂ as a function of temperature (from 0.5 to 300?K) and magnetic field (up to 2?T) are presented. The total specific heat without the phonon and Schottky contributions is found to have the anomaly with maximum at T _SPT?～?5?K. This anomaly is likely related with the structural phase transition (SPT) caused by the cooperative Jahn–Teller effect. The increase of specific heat at very low temperatures and its shift towards high temperatures with increasing magnetic field are observed. The origin of this behaviour can be connected with possible magnetic phase transition induced by magnetic field.