In this paper we review some of our recent experimental and theoretical results on transport and thermodynamic properties of heavy-fermion alloys Ce(1-x)Yb(x)CoIn5. Charge transport measurements under magnetic field and pressure on these single cryst
alline alloys revealed that: (i) relatively small Yb substitution suppresses the field induced quantum critical point, with a complete suppression for nominal Yb doping x>0.20; (ii) the superconducting transition temperature Tc and Kondo lattice coherence temperature T* decrease with x, yet they remain finite over the wide range of Yb concentrations; (iii) both Tc and T* increase with pressure; (iv) there are two contributions to resistivity, which show different temperature and pressure dependences, implying that both heavy and light quasiparticles contribute to inelastic scattering. We also analyzed theoretically the pressure dependence of both T* and Tc within the composite pairing theory. In the purely static limit, when we ignore the lattice dynamics, we find that the composite pairing mechanism necessarily causes opposite behaviors of T* and Tc with pressure: if T* grows with pressure, Tc must decrease with pressure and vice versa.
We investigated the onset of the many-body coherence in the f-orbital single crystalline alloys Ce(1-x)Yb(x)CoIn5 through thermodynamic and magneto-transport measurements. Our study shows the evolution of the many-body electronic state as the Kondo l
attice of Ce moments is transformed into an array of Ce impurities. Specifically, we observe a smooth crossover from the predominantly localized Ce moment regime to the predominantly itinerant Yb f-electronic states regime for about 50% of Yb doping. Our analysis of the residual resistivity data unveils the presence of correlations between Yb ions, while from our analysis of specific heat data we conclude that for 0.65<x<0.775, ytterbium f-electrons strongly interact with the conduction electrons while the Ce moments remain completely decoupled. The sub-linear temperature dependence of resistivity across the whole range of Yb concentrations suggest the presence of a nontrivial scattering mechanism for the conduction electrons.
Single crystals of BaRh_2As_2 have been synthesized from a Pb flux. We present the room temperature crystal structure, single crystal x-ray diffraction measurements as a function of temperature T, anisotropic magnetic susceptibility chi versus T, ele
ctrical resistivity in the ab-plane rho versus T, Hall coefficient versus T and magnetic field H, and heat capacity C versus T measurements on the crystals. The single crystal structure determination confirms that BaRh_2As_2 forms in the tetragonal ThCr_2Si_2 type structure (space group I4/mmm) with lattice parameters a = b = 4.0564(6)AA and c = 12.797(4) AA. Band structure calculations show that BaRh_2As_2 should be metallic with a small density of states at the Fermi energy N(E_ F) = 3.49 states/eV f.u. (where f.u. equiv formula unit) for both spin directions. rho(T) data in the ab-plane confirm that the material is indeed metallic with a residual resistivity rho(2K) = 29 mu Omega cm, and with a residual resistivity ratio rho(310K)/rho(2K) = 5.3. The observed chi(T) is small (sim 10^{-5} cm^3/mol) and weakly anisotropic with chi_{ab}/chi_ c approx 2. The C(T) data indicate a small density of states at the Fermi energy with the low temperature Sommerfeld coefficient gamma = 4.7(9) mJ/mol K^2. There are no indications of superconductivity, spin density wave, or structural transitions between 2K and 300K. We compare the calculated density of states versus energy of BaRh_2As_2 with that of BaFe_2As_2.
Static magnetic susceptibility chi, ac susceptibility chi_{ac} and specific heat C versus temperature T measurements on polycrystalline samples of In2VO5 and chi and C versus T measurements on the isostructural, nonmagnetic compound In2TiO5 are repor
ted. A Curie-Wiess fit to the chi(T) data above 175 K for In2VO5 indicates ferromagnetic exchange between V^{4+} (S = 1/2) moments. Below 150 K the chi(T) data deviate from the Curie-Weiss behavior but there is no signature of any long range magnetic order down to 1.8 K. There is a cusp at 2.8 K in the zero field cooled (ZFC) chi(T) data measured in a magnetic field of 100 Oe and the ZFC and field cooled (FC) data show a bifurcation below this temperature. The frequency dependence of the chi_{ac}(T) data indicate that below 3 K the system is in a spin-glass state. The difference Delta C between the heat capacity of In2VO5 and In2TiO5 shows a broad anomaly peaked at 130 K. The entropy upto 300 K is more than what is expected for S = 1/2 moments. The anomaly in Delta C and the extra entropy suggests that there may be a structural change below 130 K in In2VO5.
