Nonuniversality of the non-Fermi-liquid state inCeRhSb1−xSnxcompounds on the Sn-rich side

Abstract

We examine the electronic properties of the $\mathrm{Ce}\mathrm{Rh}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sn}}_{x}$ metallic series with $0.78\ensuremath{\leqslant}x\ensuremath{\leqslant}1$ by treating the non-Fermi liquid (NFL) state of CeRhSn as a reference state. A nonuniversal behavior of the NFL phase is observed as a function of $x$, which is attributed to enhanced magnetic disorder effects introduced by alloying, from one side and to the role of spin fluctuations due to Rh $4d$ electrons from the other. The NFL behavior at the lowest temperatures is attributed to quantum critical fluctuations among $4f$ electrons due to Ce, whereas the spin fluctuations become pronounced at higher temperatures $Tg6\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. Thus, in Sn-rich samples those two types of fluctuations coexist. An itinerant-electron type of spin-glass-like state with a small magnetic moment appears at temperatures $T\ensuremath{\leqslant}5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. These studies complement our previous work on the same system in the Sb-rich region, i.e., with $0\ensuremath{\leqslant}xl0.2$, where the Kondo semiconducting state evolves into NFL state via a quantum critical point located at $x\ensuremath{\cong}0.12$.