Low temperature specific heat of the Kondo-semimetal CeNiSn in zero and applied magnetic fields
- Walther-Meissner-Inst., Garching (Germany)
- Technical Univ. Munich, Garching (Germany). Physics Dept.
- Japan Advanced Inst. of Science and Technology, Ishikawa (Japan)
- Hiroshima Univ., Higashi-Hiroshima (Japan). Dept. of Quantum Matter
The specific heat of several CeNiSn single crystals of various purity has been measured in the temperature range from 25 mK to 5 K and in magnetic fields from zero to 7 Tesla. At very low temperatures (below {approximately} 200 mK) the specific heat is found to vary linearly with temperature (C = {gamma}T), the coefficient {gamma} decreasing with increasing purity. Above 200 mK, the specific heat is well described as the sum of a linear and a quadratic term. An applied magnetic field affects mostly the linear term, which first slightly decreases, then strongly increases with field. In magnetic fields, a nuclear hyperfine specific heat contribution is superimposed, which is due mostly to the bare Zeeman-splitting of the {sup 115}Sn, {sup 117}Sn, {sup 119}Sn nuclei (all with spin I = 1/2 and with abundances of 0.35, 7.61, and 8.58% respectively) in the externally applied field. The results on the specific heat at very low temperatures in applied fields fit into the model of an enhanced (heavy-fermion type) density of states which is modified by coherent antiferromagnetic fluctuations into a V-shaped density of states at the Fermi energy.
- OSTI ID:
- 355639
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Low Temperature Physics, Vol. 115, Issue 5-6; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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