Magnetic Properties of Ce2Cu8Al9 Single Crystal: New Heavy Fermion Material

Abstract

We report magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements on single-crystal specimens of Ce₂Cu₈Al₉ with the rhombohedral Th₂Zn₁₇-type crystal structure. The low-temperature specific heat has revealed heavy-fermion behavior, i.e., C/T attaining an extremely large value of about 2.7, J/K², mol-Ce around 0.7, K, which is greatly reduced by an applied magnetic field, namely, down to less than half of the zero-field value for H=5.2, T. It is indicated from the present experiments that Ce₂Cu₈Al₉ is a new heavy-fermion material of T_K-- 3, K.