MAGNETIC ORDER AND CRYSTAL-FIELD EXCITATIONS IN ND3PD20GE6

Citation
A. Donni et al., MAGNETIC ORDER AND CRYSTAL-FIELD EXCITATIONS IN ND3PD20GE6, Journal of physics. Condensed matter, 10(32), 1998, pp. 7219-7229
Citations number
14
Categorie Soggetti
Physics, Condensed Matter
ISSN journal
09538984
Volume
10
Issue
32
Year of publication
1998
Pages
7219 - 7229
Database
ISI
SICI code
0953-8984(1998)10:32<7219:MOACEI>2.0.ZU;2-F
Abstract
The magnetic properties of the new cubic intermetallic compound Nd3Pd2 0Ge6 have been investigated by neutron scattering and low-temperature specific heat experiments. The results include the refinement of the c rystal structure at 10 K (space group Fm (3) over bar m, No 225), the observation of three successive magnetic phase transitions (at T-N1 = 1.75 K, T-N2 = 1.40 K and T-N3 = 0.54 K), the determination of the ant iferromagnetic structure between T-N1 and T-N2 (antiferromagnetically ordered Nd moments on site 8c coexist with disordered Nd moments on si te 4a) and the measurement of the crystalline-electric-field (CEF) lev el scheme (Gamma(8)((1))) --> Gamma(6) --> Gamma(8)((2))) in the param agnetic state. An extrapolation of the CEF parameters obtained for Nd3 Pd20Ge6 predicts the CEF ground-states to be the tripler Gamma(5) in P r3Pd20Ge6 and the quarter Gamma(8) in Ce3Pd20Ge6.