Thermal and electronic transport in CeRu2Al10: Evidence for a metal-insulator transition

A first report of physical properties of the ternary intermetallic compound CeRu₂Al₁₀ is given. The electrical resistivity below room temperature shows activated behaviour with a narrow gap of before the onset of a sharp peak in ρ(T) below . The Hall coefficient as well as the thermoelectric power are overall positive, and both increase in a similarly sharp manner below T^*. The lattice part of the thermal conductivity indicates phonon coupling of the heat transport at T^*, possibly underlying a lattice transformation that accompanies the putative metal-to-insulator and magnetic phase transitions.