The crystal structure and magnetic properties of YCo$_5$ compound have been studied by neutron diffraction, in the pressure range $0 le p le 7.2 GPa$. The experimental data are analyzed together with results from the combined Density Functional and Dynamical Mean-Field Theory. A good agreement between the experimentally determined and calculated values of cobalt moments is shown. Our scenario for the behavior of YCo$_5$ under pressure, is the combined action of the Lifshitz transition with a strong local electron-electron interaction.
We report a study of the low-temperature high-pressure phase diagram of the intermetallic compound PrCu$_2$, by means of molecular-field calculations and $^{63,65}$Cu nuclear-quadrupole-resonance (NQR) measurements under pressure. The pressure-induced magnetically-ordered phase can be accounted for by considering the influence of the crystal electric field on the $4f$ electron orbitals of the Pr$^{3+}$ ions and by introducing a pressure-dependent exchange interaction between the corresponding local magnetic moments. Our experimental data suggest that the order in the induced antiferromagnetic phase is incommensurate. The role of magnetic fluctuations both at high and low pressures is also discussed.
We present the result of an extended experimental characterization of the hexagonal intermetallic Haucke compound NpNi$_{5}$. By combining macroscopic and shell-specific techniques, we determine the 5$f$-shell occupation number $n_f$ close to 4 for the Np ions, together with orbital and spin components of the ordered moment in the ferromagnetic phase below T$_C$ = 16 K ($mu_{S}$ = -1.88~$mu_{B}$ and $mu_{L}$ = 3.91~$mu_{B}$). The apparent coexistence of ordered and disordered phases observed in the M{o}ssbauer spectra is explained in terms of slow relaxation between the components of a quasi-triplet ground state. The ratio between the expectation value of the magnetic dipole operator and the spin magnetic moment ($3langle T_{z}rangle/ langle S_{z}rangle$ = +1.43) is positive and large, suggesting a localized character of the 5$f$ electrons. The angular part of the spin-orbit coupling ($langlevec{ell}cdotvec{s}rangle$ = -5.55) is close to the value of -6.25 calculated for trivalent Np ions in intermediate coupling approximation. The results are discussed against the prediction of first-principle electronic structure calculations based on the spin-polarized local spin density approximation plus Hubbard interaction, and of a mean field model taking into account crystal field and exchange interactions.
The Kondo-lattice compound CeRhIn$_5$ displays a field-induced Fermi surface reconstruction at $B^*approx30$ T, which occurs within the antiferromagnetic state, prior to the quantum critical point at $B_{c0}approx50$ T. Here, in order to investigate the nature of the Fermi surface change, we measured the magnetostriction, specific heat, and magnetic torque of CeRhIn$_5$ across a wide range of magnetic fields. Our observations uncover the field-induced itineracy of the $4f$ electrons, where above $B_{rm onset}approx17$ T there is a significant enhancement of the Sommerfeld coefficient, and spin-dependent effective cyclotron masses determined from quantum oscillations. Upon crossing $B_{rm onset}$, the temperature dependence of the specific heat also shows distinctly different behavior from that at low fields. Our results indicate that the Kondo coupling is remarkably robust upon increasing the magnetic field. This is ascribed to the delocalization of the $4f$ electrons at the Fermi surface reconstruction at $B^*$.
We have grown the new uranium compound URhIn$_5$ with the tetragonal HoCoGa$_5$-type by the In self flux method. In contrast to the nonmagnetic ground state of the isoelectronic analogue URhGa$_5$, URhIn$_5$ is an antiferromagnet with antiferromagnetic transition temperature $T_{rm N}$ = 98 K. The moderately large electronic specific heat coefficient $gamma$ = 50 mJ/K$^2$mol demonstrates the contribution of 5$f$ electrons to the conduction band. On the other hand, magnetic susceptibility in the paramagnetic state roughly follows a Curie-Weiss law with a paramagnetic effective moment corresponding to a localized uranium ion. The crossover from localized to itinerant character at low temperature may occur around the characteristic temperature 150 K where the magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity show a marked anomaly.
The pressure-induced changes in the temperature-dependent thermopower S(T) and electrical resistivity rho(T) of CeRu_2Ge_2 are described within the single-site Anderson model. The Ce-ions are treated as impurities and the coherent scattering on different Ce-sites is neglected. Changing the hybridisation Gamma between the 4f-states and the conduction band accounts for the pressure effect. The transport coefficients are calculated in the non-crossing approximation above the phase boundary line. The theoretical S(T) and rho(T) curves show many features of the experimental data. The seemingly complicated temperature dependence of S(T) and rho(T), and their evolution as a function of pressure, is related to the crossovers between various fixed points of the model.