Effect of magnetic fields on the Kondo insulator CeRhSb:Magnetoresistance and high-field heat capacity measurements

Abstract

The compound CeRhSb is a mixed valent Ce-based compound which shows a gap in the electronic density of states at low temperatures. The gap manifests by a rise in electrical resistivity{emdash}below about 8 K from which the gap energy is estimated to be about 4 K. We have carried out heat capacity measurements on this compound in various applied fields up to 9.85 T. The magnetic contribution to the heat capacity, {Delta}C, is found to have a maximum in {Delta}C/T vs T at 10 K, below which {Delta}C/T is linear with T. This is attributed to the fact that below this temperature, in the gapped state, the electronic density of states decreases linearly with decreasing temperature. On application of a magnetic field, the electronic specific heat coefficient {gamma} in the gapped state increases by {approximately}4mJ/molK{sup 2}. The maximum in {Delta}C/T vs T is observed in all fields, which shifts to lower temperatures {approximately}1K at 5.32 T and raises again at 9.85 T to about the same values as at H=0T. This suggests that the gap exists for all fields up to 9.85 T. Above 10 K, in the mixed-valent state, {Delta}C/T vs T decreases with increasing temperature in zero field.more » There is hardly any effect of application of field in the mixed-valent state. We have also carried out magnetoresistance measurements on CeRhSb up to fields of 5.5 T at 2, 4.5, 10, 20, and 30 K. The magnetoresistance in CeRhSb is positive at temperatures of 4.5 K and above, in applied fields up to 5.5 T. At 5.5 T, the magnetoresistance is maximum at 4.5 K (6{percent}) and decreases with increasing temperature. The observation of the maximum is consistent with the observation of a maximum in {Delta}C/T vs T and is due to a change in the density of states. At a temperature of 2 K, a negative magnetoresistance is observed for magnetic fields greater than {approximately}3.5T which suggests reduction in the gap. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}« less