Crystal field states in conducting magnetic materials: NdAl2, UPd2Al3 and YbRh2Si2

TL;DR

This paper discusses the coexistence of crystal field states and conduction electrons in certain magnetic materials, highlighting their quantum critical behavior and the role of anisotropic spin liquids in these metallic compounds.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of crystal field states in NdAl2, UPd2Al3, and YbRh2Si2, emphasizing their unique magnetic and quantum critical properties in conducting environments.

Findings

Localized crystal-field states coexist with conduction electrons.

YbRh2Si2 exhibits a Kramers doublet ground state with low magnetic ordering temperature.

These compounds demonstrate quantum critical phenomena at low temperatures.

Abstract

The existence of CEF states and the magnetism in conducting compounds NdAl2, UPd2Al3 and YbRh2Si2 is discussed. We point out that in metallic compounds localized crystal-field states coexist with conduction electrons. These compounds are physical realization of an anisotropic spin liquid, which in case of the atomic-like configuration with an odd number of f electrons, is unstable with respect to spin fluctuations for T->0K. YbRh2Si2 is discussed as a compound with the Kramers doublet ground state with a very low magnetic ordering temperature being a reason for the quantum critical point phenomena at low T.