Possible observation of the quadrupolar Kondo effect in dilute quadrupolar system Pr(x)La(1-x)Pb3 for x <or= 0.05.
We have studied non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior in Pr(x)La(1-x)Pb3 with Gamma3 quadrupolar moments in the crystalline-electric-field ground state. The specific heat C/T shows NFL behavior in the very dilute region for x <or= 0.05, which is scaled by a characteristic temperature T* in each Pr concentration. The application of a magnetic field leads to a sharp increase of C/T , demonstrating the shift of the entropy existing in the lower temperature region at H=0 T . Moreover, Fermi-liquid behavior emerges at higher fields, in contrast with NFL behavior at lower fields. The observed features indicate that NFL behavior is caused by the quadrupolar Kondo effect.
Department of Applied Quantum Physics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
T
T
Kawae
K
K
Kinoshita
Y
Y
Nakaie
N
N
Tateiwa
K
K
Takeda
H S
HS
Suzuki
T
T
Kitai