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Stady of the local and global physical properties of cubic rareearth (R) itermetallic compounds: RT3 (T=Al, Cd, In,Sn)

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Author(s):
Eduardo Matzenbacher Bittar
Total Authors: 1
Document type: Doctoral Thesis
Press: Campinas, SP.
Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin
Defense date:
Examining board members:
Pascoal José Giglio Pagliuso; Nelson Orlando Moreno Salazar; Marcos de Abreu Ávila; Oscar Ferreira de Lima; Varlei Rodrigues
Advisor: Pascoal José Giglio Pagliuso
Abstract

Series of compounds which have interesting physical phenomena, occurring in structurally simple materials, provide an excellent opportunity to systematically study the interrelationship between these phenomena and their microscopic origins, without worrying about effects associated with other complex crystal structures of lower symmetry. Thus, this thesis set out to study three research themes: the CeIn3-xSnx system and its nonmagnetic analogue LaIn3-xSnx, the CeIn3-xCdx system and the YbAl3 compound and its reference compound LuAl3. The CeIn3-xSnx system has a quantum critical point (QCP) at x ? 0.7, where the antiferromagnetic order (TN = 10 K in CeIn3) is totally suppressed. For 0.7 < x < 2 the compounds are Fermi liquids and from x = 2 the materials show intermediate valence behavior. In this system, doped with Gd3+, measurements of electron spin resonance (ESR) indicated that the Ce 4f electron presents a crossover between a localized to itinerant behavior with Sn doping. The ESR results of Gd3+ in the LaIn3-xSnx system were analyzed with a single band model (s type) and no q dependence. We also investigated the CeIn3-xCdx system by measuring magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and electrical resistivity proprieties. The substitution of In by Cd decreases the TN of CeIn3 and also decreases the electronic specific heat coefficient, indicating that the system is not being tuned to a QCP. The YbAl3 and LuAl3 compounds, doped with Gd3+, were also studied by ESR, but in the analysis, we used multiband model to explain the results. Specific heat and magnetic susceptibility measurements in these samples showed that electron-electron exchange interactions are present in both compounds. These ESR results may be relevant to construct more realistic models of the microscopic behavior of other heavy fermion-based intermediate valence Yb compounds (AU)