Scalar Order in PrFe4P12 Studied by Thermal Expansion and Magnetostriction

概要

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We present the results of high-resolution measurements of the thermal expansion and magnetostriction of the cubic filled skutterudite compound PrFe4P12. The temperature dependence of the thermal expansion $\Delta L(T)/L$ for the three main symmetry directions are nearly identical below $T_{\text{A}}$, in accordance with a recently proposed scalar order parameter for the A-phase. In the field-angle dependence of the transverse thermal expansion $\Delta L(\theta)/L$ along the [001] direction ($\theta$ is the angle between the [100] direction and the orientation of a magnetic field within the (001) plane), we find clear twofold oscillation. On the basis of mean-field analyses, we show that the observed twofold oscillation can be interpreted as the the crystal field effect for the cubic $T_{h}$ symmetry. Our results suggest that the crystal field scheme consists of a $\Gamma_{1}$ ground state and a $\Gamma_{4}^{(1)}$ first-excited state, in both the non-ordered and A-phases.
Physical Society of Japanの論文
2009-04-15