Crystal-field splittings in CeX (X = N, P, As, Sb, Bi) compounds

Abstract

The unusual and interesting physical properties of rare earth intermetallic compounds have their origin in the combination of strongly correlated 4f states and their hybridization with the conduction electron sea, which gives rise to their complex low temperature Kondo behavior. In particular, Ce compounds are very sensitive to the crystalline and chemical environment, as compared to other rare earth systems. The interaction of the 4f state with the conduction band plays an important role in the determination of the different magnetic, structural and transport properties of these systems. Among the cerium compounds, those of the type CeX, which crystallize in the rock salt structure, exhibit extremely unusual magnetic properties. By making use of the mixed LDA-NCA calculation technique we analyse the crystal-field splittings of CeX compounds (X=N, P, As, Sb, Bi). The obtained ab initio hybridization functions are taken as inputs to calculate the crystal-field splittings within NCA (non crossing approximation) and the tendencies are contrasted with experiments.