Abstract

Results are reported for the f -electron intermetallic CeAuAl 4 Ge 2 , where the atomic arrangement of the cerium ions creates the conditions for possible geometric frustration. The magnetic susceptibility follows a Curie-Weiss temperature dependence at elevated temperatures, revealing that the cerium ions are trivalent. At lower temperatures the crystal electric field splits the Hund's rule multiplet, resulting in a weak low-temperature magnetic exchange interaction and ordering near T M ≈ 1.4 K . This occurs within a metallic Kondo lattice, where electrical resistivity and heat capacity measurements show that the Kondo-driven electronic correlations are negligible. Quantum oscillations are detected in ac-magnetic susceptibility measurements and uncover small charge carrier effective masses. Electronic structure calculations reveal that inclusion of an on- f -site Coulomb repulsion (Hubbard) U results in antiferromagnetic order and causes the f -electron bands to move away from the Fermi level, resulting in electronic behavior that is dominated by the s , p , and d bands, which are all characterized by light electron masses. Thus, CeAuAl 4 Ge 2 may provide a starting point for investigating geometric magnetic frustration in a cerium lattice without strong Kondo hybridization, where calculations provide useful guidance.

Department(s)

Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevmaterials.1.044404

Rights Information

© 2017 American Physical Society

Keywords

crystal structure, electronic structure, fermi surface, frustrated magnetism, magnetic anisotropy, metals

Publication Date

2017

Journal Title

Physical Review Materials

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