Tricritical phenomena at the gamma-->alpha transition in Ce0.9-xLaxTh0.1 alloys.
The gamma-->alpha isostructural transition in the Ce0.9-xLaxTh0.1 system is measured as a function of La alloying using specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, thermal expansivity or striction measurements. A line of discontinuous transitions, as indicated by the change in volume, decreases exponentially from 118 K to close to 0 K with increasing La doping, and the transition changes from being first-order to continuous at a critical concentration, x(c) approximately 0.14. At the tricritical point, the coefficient of the linear T term in the specific heat gamma and the magnetic susceptibility increase rapidly near x(c) and approach large values at x=0.35 signifying that a heavy Fermi-liquid state evolves at large doping. The Wilson ratio reaches a value above 2 for a narrow range of concentrations near x(c), where the specific heat and susceptibility vary most rapidly with the doping concentration.
Lashley
J C
JC
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
Lawson
A C
AC
Cooley
J C
JC
Mihaila
B
B
Opeil
C P
CP
Pham
L
L
Hults
W L
WL
Smith
J L
JL
Schmiedeshoff
G M
GM
Drymiotis
F R
FR
Chapline
G
G
Basu
S
S
Riseborough
P S
PS