Low-temperature thermal properties in the CePd3Bx system

Abstract

Low-temperature (0.4<or approximately=T<or approximately=20K) heat capacity data for typical boron concentrations in the system CePd3Bx (0.07<or=x<or=1) are reported. Schottky-like anomalies occur in the range 0.7-2K for all boron concentrations investigated (x=0.07, 0.19, 0.35, 0.60 and 1). For x=1 a 'single-impurity-like' behaviour is observed with a value of C/T=3.9 J mol-1 K-2 as T to 0; the entropy gain at 6K is found to be approximately 0.9 R ln 2 and this is in agreement with a Gamma 7 crystal-field ground state. The observed anomalies are tentatively ascribed to either an aleatory cooperative magnetic state or to a dense Kondo model state of a heavy Fermi liquid system with some magnetic correlation effects.