Tricritical Phenomena at the Cerium $\gamma \to \alpha$ Transition

Abstract

The $\gamma \to \alpha$ isostructural transition in the Ce${}_{0.9-x}$La${}_x$Th${}_{0.1}$ system is measured as a function of La alloying using specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, thermal expansivity/striction measurements. A line of discontinuous transitions, as indicated by the change in volume, decreases exponentially from 118 K to close to zero with increasing La doping and the transition changes from being first-order to continuous at a critical concentration $0.10\le x_c\le 0.14$. At the tricritical point, the coefficient of the linear $T$ term in the specific heat $\gamma$ and the magnetic susceptibility start to increase rapidly near $x$ = 0.14 and gradually approaches large values at $x$=0.35 signifying that a heavy Fermi-liquid state evolves at large doping. Near $x_c$, the Wilson ratio, $R_W$, has a value of 3.0, signifying the presence of magnetic fluctuations. Also, the low-temperature resistivity shows that the character of the low-temperature Fermi-liquid is changing.

References in corpus (4)

• The role of the lattice in the $\gamma \to \alpha$ phase transition of Ce: a high pressure neutron and x-ray diffraction study
• Suppression of the $\gamma -\alpha$ structural phase transition in $C{e}_{0.8}L{a}_{0.1}T{h}_{0.1}$ by large magnetic fields
• Quantum critical end point of the Kondo volume collapse
• First order valence transition in YbInCu_4 in the (B,T) - plane

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Quantum Valence Criticality as Origin of Unconventional Critical Phenomena
• The $\gamma$-$\alpha$ iso-structural Transition in Cerium, a Critical Element
• Control of magnetic, non-magnetic and superconducting states in annealed Ca(Fe${}_{1-x}$Co${}_x$)${}_2$As${}_2$
• Thermodynamics of the α-γ transition in Cerium from first principles
• New Universality Class of Quantum Criticality in Ce- and Yb-based Heavy Fermions
• Topological Phase Transition in an Archetypal f-electron Correlated System: Ce
• Signature of f-electron conductance in $\alpha$-Ce single-atom contacts
• A robust but disordered collapsed-volume phase in a cerium alloy under the application of pulsed magnetic fields