J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 85, 123704 (2016) [5 Pages]
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LETTERS

Broad Excitation Spectra between Crystalline-Electric-Field Levels Associated with Non-Kramers Doublet Ground State of f Electrons in PrNb2Al20

Kazuaki Iwasa1,, Ryuji Higashinaka2, Yuji Aoki2, Seiko Ohira-Kawamura3, and Kenji Nakajima3
+ Affiliations
1Frontier Research Center for Applied Atomic Sciences and Institute of Quantum Beam Science, Ibaraki University, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1106, Japan2Department of Physics, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan3Materials and Life Science Division, J-PARC Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1195, Japan
Received July 30, 2016; Accepted October 25, 2016; Published November 16, 2016

Inelastic neutron scattering measurements of PrNb2Al20, which exhibits non-Fermi-liquid behaviors, were carried out in order to determine the f-electron crystalline-electric-field split. Magnetic inelastic scattering intensities were observed at excitation energies of up to 15 meV, which are attributed to the crystalline-electric-field level scheme with the non-Kramers Γ3 doublet ground state of 4f2 in Pr3+ ions. The intrinsic full width at half maximum of the excitations from Γ3 to Γ5 and Γ4 are estimated to be approximately 3.7 meV. These values are much larger than those of the isomorphic PrTr2Zn20 (Tr = Rh and Ir). The considerably broad spectrum of PrNb2Al20 supports the existence of hybridization between Pr 4f electrons and conduction electrons, which mediates the Kondo effect in this material.

©2016 The Physical Society of Japan
https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.85.123704

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