KONDO BEHAVIOR IN CENI0.4CU0.6

The effect of the substitution of Ni by Cu on the CeNi compound is ana lyzed by means of susceptibility, magnetization, and magnetoresistance measurements on the pseudobinary CeNi0.4Cu0.6 compound. Down to 2 K, the lowest investigated temperature, the compound does not present any magnetic order, but magnetic measurements suggest an ordering tempera ture (T-C) not far below 2 K. Magnetization and magnetoresistance data show an important Kondo interaction leading to a Kondo temperature (T -K) higher than T-C. The results are discussed considering the Kondo, magnetic exchange, and crystalline electric field interactions. (C) 19 96 American Institute of Physics.