The magnetic state of Yb in Kondo-lattice YbNi2B2C

TL;DR

This study uses neutron scattering to explore the magnetic excitations of YbNi2B2C, revealing a complex interplay of Kondo and crystal field effects that suggest proximity to a quantum critical point.

Contribution

It provides detailed experimental insights into the magnetic excitations and anisotropy in YbNi2B2C, and applies an Anderson impurity model to interpret the magnetic properties.

Findings

Magnetic excitations extend up to 150 meV with inelastic peaks at 18 and 43 meV.

Low-energy quasielastic scattering with a width of 2.1 meV observed.

Crystalline electric field anisotropy is enhanced and similar to other RNi2B2C compounds.

Abstract

We report neutron scattering experiments performed to investigate the dynamic magnetic properties of the Kondo-lattice compound YbNi2B2C. The spectrum of magnetic excitations is found to be broad, extending up to at least 150 meV, and contains inelastic peaks centred near 18 meV and 43 meV. At low energies we observe quasielastic scattering with a width Gamma = 2.1 meV. The results suggest a Yb3+ ground state with predominantly localized 4f electrons subject to (i) a crystalline electric field (CEF) potential, and (ii) a Kondo interaction, which at low temperatures is about an order of magnitude smaller than the CEF interaction. From an analysis of the dynamic magnetic response we conclude that the crystalline electric field acting on the Yb ions has a similar anisotropy to that in other RNi2B2C compounds, but is uniformly enhanced by almost a factor of 2. The static and dynamic magnetic properties of YbNi2B2C are found to be reconciled quite well by means of an approximation scheme to the Anderson impurity model, and this procedure also indicates that the effective Kondo interaction varies with temperature due to the crystal field splitting. We discuss the nature of the correlated-electron ground state of YbNi2B2C based on these and other experimental results, and suggest that this compound might be close to a quantum critical point on the non-magnetic side.