Hybridization-Driven Orthorhombic Lattice Instability in URu2Si2

We have measured the elastic constant (C11-C12)/2 in URu2Si2 by means of high-frequency ultrasonic measurements in pulsed magnetic fields H || [001] up to 61.8 T in a wide temperature range from 1.5 to 116 K. We found a reduction of (C11-C12)/2 that appears only in the temperature and magnetic field region in which URu2Si2 exhibits a heavy-electron state and hidden-order. This change in (C11-C12)/2 appears to be a response of the 5f-electrons to an orthorhombic and volume conservative strain field \epsilon_xx-\epsilon_yy with {\Gamma}3-symmetry. This lattice instability is likely related to a symmetry-breaking band instability that arises due to the hybridization of the localized f electrons with the conduction electrons, and is probably linked to the hidden-order parameter of this compound.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Study of localized character of 4 f electrons and ultrasonic dispersions in SmOs4Sb12 by high-pressure high-frequency ultrasonic measurements

We present high-frequency ultrasonic measurements on the filled skutterudite SmOs4Sb12 under hydrostatic pressure. The results clarify that the 4f electrons in this compound transform from delocalized at ambient pressure to localized at high pressures with a crossover pressure of approximately 0.7 GPa. This drastic change in the 4f electrons under pressure is apparently related to the non-Fermi-liquid state, which appears in an intermediate-pressure range of 0.5-1.5 GPa. The results of our analysis strongly suggest that the ferro-octupolar interaction becomes dominant at high pressure. Moreover, we report the pressure dependence of the ultrasonic dispersion, which is due to rattling, over a wide range of ultrasonic frequencies up to 323 MHz. The drastic change in the ultrasonic dispersions and the frequency-dependent elastic anomaly in the C-11 mode at lower temperatures imply a possible coupling between rattling phonons and 4f electrons

Search for multipolar instability in URu2Si2 studied by ultrasonic measurements under pulsed magnetic field

The elastic properties of URu2Si2 in the high magnetic field region above 40 T, over a wide temperature range from 1.5 to 120 K, were systematically investigated by means of high-frequency ultrasonic measurements. The investigation was performed at high magnetic fields to better investigate the innate bare 5f-electron properties, since the unidentified electronic thermodynamic phase of unknown origin, the so-called "hidden order" (HO), and associated hybridization of conduction and f electrons (c-f hybridization) are suppressed at high magnetic fields. From the three different transverse modes we find contrasting results; both the Gamma(4)(B-2g) and Gamma(5)(E-g) symmetry modes C-66 and C-44 show elastic softening that is enhanced above 30 T, while the characteristic softening of the Gamma(3)(B-1g) symmetry mode (C-11 - C-12)/2 is suppressed in high magnetic fields. These results underscore the presence of a hybridization-driven Gamma(3)(B-1g) lattice instability in URu2Si2. However, the results from this work cannot be explained by using existing crystalline electric field schemes applied to the quadrupolar susceptibility in a local 5f(2) configuration. Instead, we present an analysis based on a band Jahn-Teller effect

Changes in elastic moduli as evidence for quadrupolar ordering in the rare-earth frustrated magnet Tb2Ti2O7

Numerous materials feature unexplained phases with invisible or hidden order of electronic origin. A particularly mysterious case is that of Tb2Ti2O7, which avoids magnetic order to the lowest temperatures, but nevertheless has an unexplained second-order phase transition near T = 0.5 K. Our ultrasound measurements of Tb2Ti2O7 provide direct evidence of a huge softening followed by strong hardening of the structural lattice below T = 0.5 K. In the absence of magnetic order at this temperature, our results provide conclusive evidence for the proposed quadrupolar order and emphasize the importance of higher-order multipolar interactions in rare-earth frustrated magnets