ABSTRACT
The compounds Sm2TGe6 (T = Pd, Pt,) were synthesized and characterized by x-ray diffraction, magnetization, electrical resistivity, thermoelectric power, and specific heat measurements performed in the temperature range 2-300 K. Additional resistivity and thermoelectric power measurements performed down to 0.35 K have not indicated superconductivity. These compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic structure of Ce2NiGe6 type and order antiferromagnetically at 23(1) and 30(1) K, respectively, showing localized magnetism of a Sm(3+) ion with a crystal field doublet level being the ground state. Below T(N), the electrical resistivity, the thermoelectric power, and the specific heat are dominated by electron-magnon scattering with an antiferromagnetic spin-wave spectrum typical of anisotropic antiferromagnetic systems. The thermoelectric power, S, achieves medium positive values at high temperatures, indicating a hole domination in electrical transport in both samples. At low temperatures, S changes its sign and becomes negative. At about 10 K a small negative maximum in S(T) occurs for both studied compounds. All the measurements carried out point to well-localized 4f-electrons in these two compounds, being strongly influenced by the crystal-electric-field effect with a significant admixture of two J-multiplets (5/2 and 7/2), typical for Sm-containing compounds.
ABSTRACT
CePt3Si is a novel heavy fermion superconductor, crystallizing in the CePt3B structure as a tetragonally distorted low symmetry variant of the AuCu3 structure type. CePt3Si exhibits antiferromagnetic order at T(N) approximately 2.2 K and enters into a heavy fermion superconducting state at T(c) approximately 0.75 K. Large values of H(')(c2) approximately -8.5 T/K and H(c2)(0) approximately 5 T refer to heavy quasiparticles forming Cooper pairs. Hitherto, CePt3Si is the first heavy fermion superconductor without a center of symmetry.
