Effect of substitution of Ce by La in the CeNixPt1 − x dense Kondo ferromagnets

The effects of substitution of Ce by La in the orthorhombic CeNi_{1 − x}Pt_x dense Kondo ferromagnets are studied by means of magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements. A decrease of the exchange RKKY interactions leads to a decrease of the Curie temperature T_c as a function of the La content and hence to an enhancement of the Kondo character in the thermal dependence of the resisitivity. However, the Ce moment is almost independent of the La amount. The Kondo temperature being also independent, this surprising result seems in contradiction with the available Kondo lattice models.     

Giant kondo resistivity in (La, Ce) B6

The electrical resistivity of the system $\text{(}\text{La}\text{, Ce)B}{}_6$ has been measured in the temperature range 0.04–300 K. The alloys show a Kondo minimum at about 20 K and a strong increase of the resistivity with decreasing temperature. The low temperature increase of the resistivity due to the Kondo effect of a sample containing 1, 2 at.% is about half as large as the room temperature resistivity of LaB₆. The Kondo temperature T_K of $\text{(}\text{La}\text{, Ce)B}{}_6$ was found to be 1.1 ± 0.2 K by comparison of the experimental results with theoretical predictions of the resistance anomaly associated with the formation of the spin-compensated state.     

Die elektrischen Eigenschaften des Kondo-Supraleiters (La,Ce)Al2

In the ternary alloy (La, Ce)Al₂ the Kondo anomalies due to the Cerium impurities are studied in the normal and superconducting state. A vanishing of superconductivity in certain (La, Ce)Al₂ alloys below a second transition temperature has been observed for the narrow range of 0.6–0.7 at% Ce-additions. The transition back into the normal state has been observed by means of dc-conductivity and low frequency mutual inductance measurements down to 30 mK. Curves of the upper critical field versus temperature show a maximum at finite temperatures even for lower Ce-concentrations. The temperature dependence of the pair-breaking parameter has been deduced empirically from the upper critical field curves, assuming additive pair breaking theory. In contradiction to the theory no decrease of the pair-breaking parameter forT → 0 can be observed. Therefore the reentrance of superconductivity at ultra low temperatures cannot be expected.     

Are there other reentrant superconductors besides\left( {\mathop {La Ce_x }\limits_{1 - x} } \right) Al2?

One superconductor \(\left( {\mathop {La Ce_x }\limits_{1 - x} } \right)\) Al₂ has apparently been found which, for a limited range of Ce impurity concentrations, shows a transition back into the normal state at a temperature below the transition temperatureT _c. The question is considered here as to whether other superconductors showing this up until now unique second transition in all likelihood exist. It is argued that the best possibilities exist among numerous superconducting lanthanum intermetallic compounds which upon the addition of cerium should become Kondo superconductors.     

Resistance maximum across the spin glass to Kondo transition

In a recent theory of the noise model of alloys like AuFe a singular point at zero temperature was found to separate a spin glass phase at high concentrations and a Kondo phase at low concentrations. Despite this there is a resistance maximum in both “phases”, although of different characters. In the present letter a relation is given between the temperature of the maximum, T_m, the noise temperature, Δ_c, and the Kondo temperature, T_K. This extends a previously given expression, that is only valid in the spin glass limit Δ_c >> T_K, across the transition at Δ_c = T_K into the Kondo phase and values of Δ_c less than T_K.     

Local magnetism of Ce in the Kondo lattice compound CeFeGe3

Local magnetism of Ce in the Kondo lattice compound CeFeGe₃ studied by measuring local susceptibility χ_loc at ¹⁴⁰Ce probe site using TDPAC method is presented. The magnitude and temperature dependence of χ_loc reflect Kondo behaviour with Kondo temperature T_K∼150 K. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Magnetic ordering and the Kondo effect in the alloys,Ce2Co1−xPdxSi3

The compound Ce₂CoSi₃, crystallizing in a AlB₂-derived hexagonal structure, has been recently identified as a Kondo lattice with a non-magnetic ground state. Here, we report the influence of gradual replacement of Co by Pd on the magnetic behaviour in the pseudo-ternary solid solution, Ce₂Co_1−xPd_xSi_3, by magnetization (2–300 K), electrical resistivity (2–300 K) and heat-capacity (0.7–30 K) measurements to bring out a transformation from non-magnetic to magnetic ordering. Distinct features attributable to the existence of a competition between the Kondo effect and magnetic ordering with varying x and temperature are observed in the electrical resistivity data. The results reveal that small substitutions of Pd (x=0.2–0.3) are sufficient to induce magnetic ordering of the Ce ions at low temperatures. The strength of the Kondo interaction as indicated by the paramagnetic Curie temperature decreases monotonically with increasing Pd content. A notable finding is that there are qualitative changes in the isothermal magnetization data in the magnetically ordered state, as if there are modifications in the magnetic structure with changes in the Co/Pd composition. The importance of electronic structure relative to unit-cell volume in deciding magnetic characteristics of this class of compounds is brought out taking into account the trends in the magnetic behaviour of isostructural Ce compounds.     

Kondo impurities in anisotropic superconductors. Eliashberg formulation

The Kondo effect in an anisotropic superconductor is studied within the framework of the Migdal-Eliashberg (ME) formulation of superconductivity. The renormalization of the ME equations arising from the scattering by the Kondo impurities is obtained on the basis of the Müller-Hartmann and Zittartz theory. Both the decrease of the transition temperature T_c and the specific heat jump at T_c are calculated.     

Molecular-field theory of moment reduction in Kondo systems with crystal-field effects

Several dense Kondo compounds have a low-temperature ordered phase in which the magnetic moments are reduced with respect to the values expected for the crystal-field (CEF) ground state. In the present work the phenomenon of moment reduction is studied within a molecular-field theory combined with a variational solution of the one-impurity Anderson model with CEF effects. The calculated zero-temperature magnetization and susceptibility agree well with available exact results; the present method is easily applied to systems of any symmetry. We first study the f ¹ configuration in cubic symmetry, for small values of the ratio T _K/Δ between Kondo temperature and CEF splitting. With a Γ _∞ ground state and a field along a 〈100〉 direction, an inflection point occurs in the magnetization curve, which gives rise to a first order transition in the zero-temperature phase diagram. This feature is not found for a field along 〈110〉 or 〈111〉, for which the transition is second order. For a Γ ₇ ground state and small values of T _K/Δ, the magnetic-nonmagnetic transition is second order for all field directions. On increasing T _K/Δ an inflection point in the magnetization curve appears first for a field along 〈111〉. The theory is applied to a study of cubic CeAg, CeAl₂, CePb₃, CeIn₃, CeTe, and hexagonal CePd₂Ga₃. The bare value of the moment is found to be strongly increased by exchange coupling to excited CEF states, and the amount of Kondo reduction is found to be substantial, confirming the importance of the Kondo effect in these compounds.     

Spin density wave of itinerant heavy electrons in Ce(Ru0.85Rh0.15)2Si2

The magnetic properties of Ce(Ru_0.85Rh_0.15)₂Si₂ were studied by neutron scattering and measurements of magnetization, susceptibility, specific heat and thermal expansion as a function of temperature. We observe a crossover from a high temperature localized spin to a low temperature heavy electron state. Spin density wave (SDW) behavior appears in the heavy electron state below T_N = 5.5 K and the volume change due to spin quantum fluctuations associated with the SDW and the Kondo screening is reminiscent of moment-volume instabilities of the INVAR and anti-INVAR behavior of 3 d transition metal alloys.     

Incoherent Kondo ground state in CeCu1.54Si1.46

Measurements of the magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat and electrical resistivity on a new Kondo lattice compound CeCu_1.54Si_1.46 have revealed an antiferromagnetic phase transition at 6.9 K. The analysis of the specific heat demonstrates that this compound is a moderately heavy electron system with strong spin fluctuations. Based on the resistivity result, we maintain that the coherence between Kondo states at Ce sites is hindered by the disorder in the Cu and Si sublattice in this non-stoichiometric compound.     

Magnetic susceptibility of (La,Ce) Al2 alloys

The low-field magnetic susceptibility of (La, Ce)Al₂ alloys with 1–20 at-% Ce was measured between 0.04 and 4 K. Up to 1.5 at-% Ce the impurity contribution to the susceptibility exhibits features which can be described in terms of a combined influence of the crystalline electric field and the Kondo effect. At very low temperatures the onset of interactions between the Ce impurities is indicated. The impurity coupling interactions determine the dependence on temperature and concentration of the more concentrated alloys. For the dilute alloys the impurity magnetization was determined from measurements of the susceptibility in magnetic fields up to 10 kOe. The magnetization as a function of temperature and field shows a typical anomaly which has been observed also in other Kondo systems.     

Evidence for a three Tc behavior of the Kondo superconductor (La,Y)Ce

The dependence of the superconducting transition temperature T_c on Ce impurity concentration is reported for the (La_0.80Y_0.20)Ce system. Susceptibility and resistivity measurements on samples with about 0.85 at. % Ce show unique behavior which must be interpreted as a superposition of three transition curves: a first transition at 0.55 K from the normal to the superconducting state, a second one at 0.27 K back to the normal state, and finally a third one at about 0.05 K again to the superconducting state. The experimental evidence of this third transition (T_c3) is of special importance for the decision about the relevant physical mechanism of pair-breaking at low temperature (T ? T_K).     

Electrical resistivity and magnetoresistance of (NiAl)1−xMx,M = 3d transition metals23

Transport properties were investigated in (NiAl)_1?xM_x, M = 3d transition metals, in order to examine the extrinsic nature of NiAl. Experimental results are well described by the s?d exchange (Kondo) theory from which exchange energy J, Kondo temperature T_k, and spin value S were estimated. A comparison between our results and the results from dilute alloys is made.     

Crystal structure and the magnetic properties of CeTiGe3

The crystal structure of the RTiGe₃ compounds (R=La, Ce and Pr) has been studied by X-ray powder diffraction methods; Rietveld refinement has been carried out on the La homologue. These compounds crystallise in the BaNiO₃ prototype structure, hP10-P6₃/mmc, also called the hexagonal perovskite (a=6.300(1), c=5.915(1) Å for LaTiGe₃). This seems to be the first example in which an intermetallic phase adopts such a structure type which can be considered as derived from the Ni₃Sn type (anti) by a distortion of the lattice and the occupation of the quasi-octahedral 2a site at the origin of the cell (0, 0, 0) by Ti. The composition, also confirmed by microprobe analyses, was found to be strictly 1:1:3 indicating that these are line compounds, forming very likely by a peritectoid reaction. The existence of homologous compounds has been established for the lighter rare earths La, Ce and Pr. Heat capacity and magnetisation data show that CeTiGe₃ orders ferromagnetically with a Curie temperature of nearly 14 K. On the other hand a−ln T variation of the magnetic part of the resistivity below 300 K is consistent with that expected for single impurity Kondo behaviour. CeTiGe₃ is thus an uncommon example of a ferromagnetic dense Kondo lattice.     

Magnetoresistivity of the Kondo-system (La,Ce)B6

The electrical resistivity of the Kondo system (La, Ce)B₆ has been measured in longitudinal and transversal magnetic fields up to 6 Tesla in the temperature range 0.04–20K. Corresponding to the strong increase of the resistivity with decreasing temperature the alloys show a very large negative magnetoresistivity with a Kondo temperatureT _K =1.05K and a Kondo magnetic fieldB _K =1.1 Tesla. The observed anisotropy of the resistivity due to the magnetic field direction cannot be explained well by existing theories.     

Kondo effect and impurity-impurity interaction in (La,Ce)B6 alloys

Measurements of the magnetic susceptibility between 0.03 and 300 K and of the magnetization between 0.05 and 10K for magnetic fields up to 60kOe have been used to investigate effects from the interaction between the conduction electrons and local magnetic moments in (La_1–x Ce _x )B₆ alloys (0.0007x0.10). For Ce concentrationsx<0.006 the data show Kondo-type single impurity behavior at low temperatures with a transition from a magnetic to a non-magnetic regime of the Ce ions. In the magnetic regime the impurity susceptibility follows a Curie-Weiss law, and in the non-magnetic regime it varies withT ². An external magnetic field gradually restores the free-ion behavior of the Ce impurities. For more concentrated alloys interactions between the impurities are observed. The RKKY interaction strength derived is more than two orders of magnitude smaller than in the Kondo systemCuFe. Values of thes–f exchange integral,J, estimated from both the Kondo effect and the RKKY interactions are in good agreement. The relatively high Kondo temperature, in spite of a smallJ, can be explained by a density-of-states argument. The influence of crystal field excitation on the susceptibility is also discussed.     

Crystal field in valence-fluctuating CeNi-based compounds

The effects of the crystal field (CF) on the paramagnetic Pr ion in a number of compounds of the type R_1−x Pr_xNi (R = Ce, La, Y), in which a transition of the cerium ions from an intermediate-valence into a Kondo state occurs as La is substituted for Ce, are investigated. The level schemes of the Pr ion in the CF are reconstructed from inelastic neutron scattering spectra and the temperature dependence of the heat capacity in different magnetic fields (B=0–8 T). The parameters of the low-symmetry CF in the compounds RNi are determined from the experimental data. It is established that in the Kondo regime the hybridization of the f electrons with conduction electrons only gives a proportional increase in all the parameters of the CF potential. At the same time, partial delocalization of the f electrons in the intermediate-valence state results in charge redistribution, which is manifested in different scales for the changes in the different CF parameters. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 12, 947–952 (25 June 1996)     

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.     

Low-temperature properties of the Ce(Pd1−xNix) system

The influence of substituting Pd by Ni is described in Ce(Pd_1-xNi_x)₃ alloys with x taken up to about 0.25. Thermal and magnetization measurements point out a transition from a non-magnetic state (CePd₃) to a ferromagnetic state for x > 0.05, with a Curie temperature K. The Ce-L_2,3 absorption edges and magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) study reveals the coexistence of strong 4f hybridization and ferromagnetic order. The Ce-L_2,3 XMCD signal measured in CePd₃ demonstrates that in the Ce-based dense Kondo materials only the 4f¹ channel gives a magnetic response.Received: 2 September 2003, Published online: 15 March 2004PACS: 75.20.Hr Local moment in compounds and alloys; Kondo effect, valence fluctuations, heavy fermions - 75.30.Mb Valence fluctuation, Kondo lattice, and heavy-fermion phenomena - 71.10.Hf Non-Fermi-liquid ground states, electron phase diagrams and phase transitions in model systems