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Transport and magnetic properties of a 4f 2 fcc lattice compound, PrCdNi4, were studied. The magnetic susceptibility, χ(T ), follows the Curie–Weiss law from 300 K to 20 K, as expected for a free Pr3+ ion. As the temperature decreases below 5 K, χ(T ) approaches a constant, indicating van-Vleck paramagnetic behavior. The specific heat, C(T ), displays a broad shoulder at around 4 K, which can be reproduced by a doublet-triplet two-level model with an energy gap of 12 K. These results suggest a non-magnetic Γ3 doublet ground state of the Pr3+ ion in the cubic crystalline electric field. C(T ) exhibits a peak at TO = 1.0 K and this peak remains robust against magnetic fields up to 5 T. In powder neutron diffraction measurements, no magnetic reflection was observed at 0.32 K < TO. Two anomalies at B = 2.1 and 5.3 T in magnetoresistance ρ(B) at 0.05 K likely originate from switching in the order parameter. These results indicate that the phase transition at TO is ascribed to an antiferro-type order of the electric quadrupole or magnetic octupole of the Γ3 doublet in the 4f 2 fcc lattice.

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• In Copyright
  ©2025 American Physical Society

Keyword: Multipolar phase transition

Date published: 2025-04-14

Publisher: American Physical Society

Journal:

• PHYSICAL REVIEW B (ISSN: 24699950) vol. 111 issue. 16 165125

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Manuscript type: Author's version (Accepted manuscript)

MDR DOI: https://doi.org/10.48505/nims.5430

First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.111.165125

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Updated at: 2025-04-15 11:28:57 +0900

Published on MDR: 2025-04-16 14:29:35 +0900