CALCULATION OF THE CRYSTAL-FIELD AND PARAMAGNETIC-SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SINGLE-CRYSTAL RARE-EARTH INTERMETALLIC COMPOUNDS RCU2

The crystal-field parameters V(n)m of PrCu2, NdCu2, TbCu2, DyCu2, HoCu 2 and ErCu2 were calculated from the point-charge model and a least-sq uares fit to the reciprocal susceptibilities along the principal axes. The results of calculation are in good agreement with the experimenta l values estimated from the anisotropic paramagnetic Curie temperature s on the basis of the molecular field approximation. The influence of the orthorhombic crystal field of RCu2 compounds on their paramagnetic susceptibility along the principal axes was calculated. At the higher temperature range, the anisotropic Curie-Weiss law is valid. At moder ate temperatures, for all intermetallic compounds, a deviation of the reciprocal paramagnetic susceptibility from the Curie-Weiss law was fo und. Its magnitude is in good agreement with experiment.