Magnetism and crystalline electric field in CePt 4B

Abstract

We present data on the new intermetallic compound CePt 4B crystallizing in the hexagonal CeCo 4B-structure. From measurements of the specific heat, the resistivity and the susceptibility we deduce the basic physical properties of this system. It orders antiferromagnetically below T N = 2.3 K. In the specific heat a pronounced λ-anomaly at T N is found with a peak value of about 7 J/mol K. A second anomaly can be seen in the specific heat between T N and 10 K, which we attribute to low-lying crystalline electric field levels. We discuss the connections between the crystalline electric field scheme and the magnetic behavior.