Yb-Yb correlations and crystal-field effects in the Kondo insulator YbB12 and its solid solutions

We have studied the effect of Lu substitution on the spin dynamics of the Kondo insulator YbB12 to clarify the origin of the spin-gap response previously observed at low temperature in this material. Inelastic neutron spectra have been measured in Yb1-xLuxB12 compounds for four Lu concentrations x = 0, 0.25, 0.90 and 1.0. The data indicate that the disruption of coherence on the Yb sublattice primarily affects the narrow peak structure occurring near 15-20 meV in pure YbB12, whereas the spin gap and the broad magnetic signal around 38 meV remain almost unaffected. It is inferred that the latter features reflect mainly local, single-site processes, and may be reminiscent of the inelastic magnetic response reported for mixed-valence intermetallic compounds. On the other hand, the lower component at 15 meV is most likely due to dynamic short-range magnetic correlations. The crystal-field splitting in YbB12 estimated from the Er3+ transitions measured in a Yb0.9Er0.1B12 sample, has the same order of magnitude as other relevant energy scales of the system and is thus likely to play a role in the form of the magnetic spectral response.Comment: 16 pages in pdf format, 9 figures. v. 2: coauthor list updated; extra details given in section 3.2 (pp. 6-7); one reference added; fig. 5 axis label change

Interplay between Heavy Fermions and Crystal Field Excitation in Kondo Lattices. Low-Temperature Thermodynamics and Inelastic Neutron Scattering Spectra of CeNiSn

The microscopic theory of interaction between the heavy fermions and the crystal field excitations in Kondo lattices is presented. It is shown that the heavy-fermion spectrum scaled by the Kondo temperature $T_K$ can be modified by the crystal field excitations with the energy $\Delta_{CF}$ provided the inequality $\Delta_{CF}<T_K$ is realized. On the base of general description of excitation spectrum the detailed qualitative and quantitative explanation of anisotropic inelastic neutron scattering spectra and low-temperature specific heat of orthorhombic CeNiSn is given. The theory resolves the apparent contradiction between the metallic conductivity and the gap-wise behavior of thermodynamic properties and spin response of CeNiSn at low temperatures.Comment: 24 pages (LaTeX), 12 Postscript figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.

Collective magnetic excitations in mixed-valence Sm0.83Y0.17S

The magnetic spectral response of black-phase mixed-valence Sm0.83Y0.17S has been measured by inelastic neutron scattering on a single crystal. Two magnetic peaks are observed in the energy range of the Sm2+ spin-orbit transition (25-40 meV). Both of them exhibit significant dispersion along the three main symmetry directions, reminiscent of the spin-orbit exciton branch found in pure divalent SmS. The results can be reproduced by a simple phenomenological model accounting for the existence of sizeable Sm-Sm exchange interactions, and a microscopic mechanism is proposed on the basis of the "local-bound-state" theory developed previously for SmB6.Comment: 6 pages in pdf format, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.