Intermediate valence behaviour in the new Kondo lattice compound Yb3Ni5Al19

Abstract

The physical properties of single crystals of the Kondo lattice material Yb3Ni5Al19 have been investigated by means of magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and electrical resistivity measurements. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction measurements indicate that Yb 3Ni5Al19 adopts the Gd3Ni 5Al19 orthorhombic crystal structure. This compound exhibits intermediate valence behaviour with a characteristic energy scale TK ∼ 500 K. Calculations of ∞(T) based on the Anderson impurity model within the non-crossing approximation including crystalline electric field effects are also presented.