QUANTUM TEMPERATURE-FLUCTUATIONS IN THE MAGNETIZATION OF ANTIFERROMAGNETIC SEMIMETALS

It is shown that in semimetallic, low-temperature antiferromagnetic ma terials located in a quantizing magnetic field, the part of the band m agnetization M similar to which oscillates in H can have a nonmonotoni c temperature dependence. This non-Fermi liquid behavior will show up experimentally in the form of quantum temperature fluctuations of the magnetization when the decrease with rising temperature is oscillatory , rather than the usual monotonic decrease. It is shown that the magne tization from an individual spin electron (or hole) subband has the fo rm of weakly damped periodic oscillations as a function of T-2. This r esult makes it possible to develop an efficient method for studying th e electronic structure of antiferromagnetic semimetals based on an exa mination of the quantum temperature fluctuations. Calculations show th at quantum temperature fluctuations can be observed, for example, in t he cerium monopnictides CeP and CeAs, which are strongly correlated, a ntiferromagnetic, compensated semimetals with low Neel temperatures. ( C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7834(98)02409-5].