Systematic Study of the 4ƒ Electronic State in RRhIn₅ and RCu₂Si₂ (R: Rare Earth)

Abstract

Systematic study of the 4ƒ electronic state in RRhIn₅ and RCu₂Si₂ has been done by using single crystalline samples which were successfully grown by the flux method. Most of RRhIn₅ compounds order antiferromagnetically at low temperatures, except when R=Y, La, Pr and Yb. The observed anisotropic features in the magnetic susceptibility and magnetization have been analyzed on the basis of the crystalline electric field (CEF) model. The observed anisotropy in the magnetic susceptibility in the paramagnetic state is well explained by the CEF effect. Specific heat measurements on a series of ternary compound RCu₂Si₂ have been performed by the quasi-adiabatic heat pulse method in the temperature range down to 100 mK. We observed the nuclear specific heat at low temperatures and estimated the magnitude of internal effective magnetic field H_eff at the nucleus in RCu₂Si₂. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2011.446]