41 research outputs found
Specific heat measurements and structural investigation of CeCu6 - xSnx compounds
International audienceThe evolution of the crystal structure and some magnetic properties of the heavy-fermion material CeCu6 - xSnx (x = 0, 0.25, 0.65, 0.75, 0.85 and 1.0) has been studied by powder neutron diffraction and by specific heat measurements. The substitution of Cu by Sn suppresses the temperature induced orthorhombic to monoclinic transition, known to occur in the pure CeCu6 phase. No structural phase transition has been observed in these samples as a function of x but the cell volume increases considerably in an anisotropic way. Sn occupies preferentially the special Cu crystallographic site which is next to each of the four Ce atoms in the unit cell. The transition to antiferromagnetic order, characterizing the samples with higher x, is sensitive to both x and magnetic field. The results are discussed in the context of the competition between Kondo and RKKY interactions in disordered or not heavy-fermion systems and reveal an interesting interplay between composition, structure and magnetism in CeCu6 - xSnx
Neutron-diffraction study of field-induced transitions in the heavy-fermion compound Ce2RhIn8
We present neutron diffraction measurements in high magnetic fields (0 to
14.5 T) and at low temperatures (2.5, 2.3, 0.77 and 0.068 K) on single crystals
of the tetragonal heavy fermion antiferromagnet Ce2RhIn8. For B//[110] the
field dependence of selected magnetic and nuclear reflections reveals that the
material undergoes several transitions, the temperature dependence of which
suggests a complex B-T phase diagram. We present the detailed evolution of the
integrated intensities of selected reflections and discuss the associated
field-induced transitions.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures Proceeding Euro-conference "Properties of
Condensed Matter probed by x-ray and neutron scattering"; to appear in
Physica
A New Heavy-Fermion Superconductor CeIrIn5: Relative of the Cuprates?
CeIrIn5 is a member of a new family of heavy-fermion compounds and has a
Sommerfeld specific heat coefficient of 720 mJ/mol-K2. It exhibits a bulk,
thermodynamic transition to a superconducting state at Tc=0.40 K, below which
the specific heat decreases as T2 to a small residual T-linear value.
Surprisingly, the electrical resistivity drops below instrumental resolution at
a much higher temperature T0=1.2 K. These behaviors are highly reproducible and
field-dependent studies indicate that T0 and Tc arise from the same underlying
electronic structure. The layered crystal structure of CeIrIn5 suggests a
possible analogy to the cuprates in which spin/charge pair correlations develop
well above Tc
Magnetic structure of CeRhIn_5 as a function of pressure and temperature
We report magnetic neutron-diffraction and electrical resistivity studies on
single crystals of the heavy-fermion antiferromagnet CeRhIn at pressures
up to 2.3 GPa. These experiments show that the staggered moment of Ce and the
incommensurate magnetic structure change weakly with applied pressure up to
1.63 GPa, where resistivity, specific heat and NQR measurements confirm the
presence of bulk superconductivity. This work places new constraints on an
interpretation of the relationship between antiferromagnetism and
unconventional superconductivity in CeRhIn.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Anomalous NMR Magnetic Shifts in CeCoIn_5
We report ^{115}In and ^{59}Co Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) measurements
in the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn_5 above and below T_c. The hyperfine
couplings of the In and Co are anisotropic and exhibit dramatic changes below
50K due to changes in the crystal field level populations of the Ce ions. Below
T_c the spin susceptibility is suppressed, indicating singlet pairing.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Variation of 4f Hybridization Across the La1-xCexIn3 Series
Crystal structures of a series of La1-xCexIn3 (x = 0.02, 0.2, 0.5, or 0.8)
intermetallic compounds have been investigated by both neutron and X-ray
diffraction, and their physical properties have been characterized by magnetic
susceptibility and specific heat measurements. Our results emphasize atypical
atomic displacement parameters (ADP) for the In and the rare-earth sites.
Depending on the x value, the In ADP presents either an "ellipsoidal"
elongation (La-rich compounds) or a "butterfly-like" distortion (Ce-rich
compounds). These deformations have been understood by theoretical techniques
based on the band theory and are the result of hybridization between conduction
electrons and 4f-electrons.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
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Thermodynamics and electrodynamics of unusual narrow-gap semiconductors
This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) that has led to a fully funded DOE program to continue this work. The project was directed toward exploring the Ettingshausen effect, which is the direct extension of the familiar Peltier-effect refrigerator (the process used in popular coolers that run off automotive electrical power) in which a magnetic field is used to enhance refrigeration effects at temperatures well below room temperature. Such refrigeration processes are all-solid-state and are of potentially great commercial importance, but essentially no work has been done since the early 1970s. Using modern experimental and theoretical techniques, the authors have advanced the state-of-the-art significantly, laying the groundwork for commercial cryogenic solid-state refrigeration
Coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity in CeRh1-xIrxIn5
We report a thermodynamic and transport study of the phase diagram of
CeRh1-xIrxIn5. Superconductivity is observed over a broad range of doping, 0.3
< x < 1, including a substantial range of concentration (0.3 < x <0.6) over
which it coexists with magnetic order (which is observed for 0 < x < 0.6). The
anomalous transition to zero resistance that is observed in CeIrIn5 is robust
against Rh substitution. In fact, the observed bulk Tc in CeRh0.5Ir0.5In5 is
more than double that of CeIrIn5, whereas the zero-resistance transition
temperature is relatively unchanged for 0.5 < x < 1