Role of p-f Hybridization in the Metal-Non-Metal Transition of PrRu4P12

Abstract

Electronic state evolution in the metal-non-metal transition of PrRu4P12 has been studied by X-ray and polarized neutron diffraction experiments. It has been revealed that, in the low-temperature non-metallic phase, two inequivalent crystal-field (CF) schemes of Pr3+ 4f^2 electrons with Gamma_1 and Gamma_4^(2) ground states are located at Pr1 and Pr2 sites forming the bcc unit cell surrounded by the smaller and larger cubic Ru-ion sublattices, respectively. This modulated electronic state can be explained by the p-f hybridization mechanism taking two intermediate states of 4f^1 and 4f^3. The p-f hybridization effect plays an important role for the electronic energy gain in the metal-non-metal transition originated from the Fermi surface nesting.

arXiv comment5 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by J. Phys. Soc. Jpn

References in corpus (2)

• Theory of Crystalline Electric Field and Kondo Effect in Pr Skutterudites
• Fermi surface of the filled-skutterudite superconductor LaRu4P12: A clue to the origin of the metal-insulator transition in PrRu4P12

Cited by in corpus (4)

• f-Electron-Nuclear Hyperfine-Coupled Multiplets in the Unconventional Charge Order Phase of Filled Skutterudite PrRu4P12
• Anomalous elastic softening of SmRu_{4}P_{12} under high pressure
• Pressure suppression of unconventional charge-density-wave state in PrRu4P12 studied by optical conductivity
• Isotropic parallel antiferromagnetism in the magnetic-field-induced charge-ordered state of SmRu${}_4$P${}_{12}$ caused by $p$-$f$ hybridization