4f-conduction electron hybridization in ternary CeTMAl compounds

Abstract

Abstract We present an investigation of CeTMAl phase diagrams with TMRu, Pd, Pt and Au. Several new compounds have been characterized by measurements of the electrical resistivity ϱ ( T ), the do susceptibility χ ( T ) and, in some cases, the specific heat C ( T ). We find that in the compounds with TMRu, the hybridization strength between 4f and conduction electrons is strong, leading in most compounds to an intermediate valent (IV) state. By contrast, most of the investigated compounds with TMPd, Pt and Au order magnetically indicating a much weaker hybridization strength. However, some of the Pt and especially Pd compounds are very near to the crossover from the magnetic to the non-magnetic regime as deduced from a Kondo-type maximum in the resistivity and a large electronic specific heat at low temperatures.