Abstract
The influence of the crystal-electric-field (CEF) splitting on the thermal conductivity is calculated on the basis of a two-level system model applicable to intermetallic magnetic compounds. The localized spin scattering contribution ${\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{s},$ in a manner similar to the total electronic thermal conductivity ${\ensuremath{\kappa}}_{e},$ shows a larger increase at low and intermediate temperatures as compared to the case in which no crystal-electric-field splitting is taken into account. The influence of some theoretical parameters is also discussed. It is shown that the CEF effect enhances the effect of the magnetic scattering potential, and impurity contributions screen such an enhancement at temperatures below the Debye temperature. Other scattering contributions, e.g., electron-phonon and electron impurities, are also taken into account in our calculation. The theory is in quantitative agreement with data on $R{\mathrm{Al}}_{2}$ systems taken as test cases, and leads to values of the level splitting in the 50 K range.
Published Version
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