ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Investigation of nonmagnetic degenerated ground state in a cubic 4f2 system PrMgNi4

Abstract: Praseodymium-based cubic compounds with a 4f2 configuration have attracted much attention. In case the crystalline electric field ground state is a nonmagnetic doublet, the magnetic dipole is quenched but electric quadrupole and magnetic octupole become active. In the present proposal, we focused on PrMgNi4 exhibiting a possible nonmagnetic degenerated ground state. The magnetic specific heat Cm/T shows a broad maximum at around 3 K, which can be reproduced by a two-level model with a ground state doublet. Futhermore, on cooling below 1 K, Cm/T approaches a constant value, which is explained by a random two-level model. Thereby, the twofold degeneracy could be lifted by symmetry lowering due to excess Mg atoms substituted for Pr atoms or the strong c-f hybridization. Inelastic neutron scattering must be a suitable probe to reveal the origin of the hindered long-range quadrupole ordering.

Principal Investigator: Professor Takahiro Onimaru
Local Contact: Dr Tatiana Guidi
Experimenter: Mr Yu Yamane
Experimenter: Dr Yuka Kusanose
Experimenter: Dr Devashi Adroja
Experimenter: Dr Yasuyuki Shimura
Experimenter: Miss Rikako Yamamoto

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1920297

ISIS Experiment Number: RB1920297

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Professor Takahiro Onimaru et al; (2019): Investigation of nonmagnetic degenerated ground state in a cubic 4f2 system PrMgNi4, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1920297

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.