The effect of the crystal-field ground-state splitting on the electrical resistivity of dilute (La,Pr)B6

We have measured the resistivity and the magnetoresistivity of some dilute (La, Pr)B₆ single crystals. At temperatures below 1 K a pronounced step in the resistivity occurs which shifts to higher temperatures with increasing Pr concentration as well as with increasing external magnetic fields. The observed resistance anomaly is caused by Pr–Pr interactions which remove the degeneracy of the ₅ crystal field ground state of Pr³⁺ in LaB₆. The resistance step reflects the temperature-dependent probability that conduction electrons are scattered from the ₅ crystal field sublevels of the Pr³⁺ ions. The shift of the resistance step in a magnetic field can be simply explained as Zeeman effect of the ₅ triplet.